I think we can take it as read, flying skills have gone out the window now. The youngsters with low hours can operate the automatics far better and quicker than I ever could. You can take a 16 year old, or younger out of an amusement parlor and they could be taught to operate the automatics of an a/c far quicker than us dinosaurs. A chief pilot of a national carrier told me 20 years ago, "flying skills are well down the list of priorities for us as far as selection goes". I knew we were in trouble then.
However as for handling an a/c in manual, that is a different story.
Take crosswind landings for eg., who nowadays can pull off a landing at max xwind, touching down, on the centre line, when the heading, track of the a/c and R/W heading are the same. Not very many these days I suspect.. If we are unable we don't have full control of the A/C. Or do we? Surely that is what we all desire and strive for, or is it just throwing the a/c at the runway the aim?
This is the reality guys, get used to it. You can teach automatics in a class room/simulator. Flying skills, don't come that easy.
Last edited by RichardJones; 24th Jan 2022 at 08:57.