Maybe, maybe not. But it's beside the point. Recent major accidents and incidents have involved perfectly serviceable crew and aircraft deviating from sensible attitude and power for the stage of flight (and when that's been the FO as PF, a weak Captain has often been the final hole in the Swiss cheese). Personally I don't think hand flying slavishly glued to the flight director proves, or improves, anything much - and if anything, reinforces FD tunnel vision whilst entrusting the possibly erroneous path to something or someone else,, rather than manoeuvring to a sensible attitude and power - and sort out the FD when time allows... An instinctive feel for when attitude and power have gone awry DOES come with a diverse aviation experience, particularly from VFR pure visual flying, and I would concede - with raw data flying, but how to expose new pilots to this without increasing"busts" or increasing PMs work/error load, is a tricky one. I believe inexperienced FO voluntary take-up of free FB sim sessions has been pretty low. I do remember when BA and Britannia had Cherokees which employees could fly - that would be a start. And the 1980s pilot hiring teams which went trawling round flying and gliding clubs, looking for new FOs. So maybe pilot hiring does have to put demonstrable pilot aptitude, air-mindedness and proven aviation interest at the top of the list, and spotty "programmable human automatons" at the bottom (and the former also makes for much more interesting company during a 12 hour day)!. Twenty years ago, it's was usual to be sitting with someone who had a visual stick and rudder, or ultra basic IFR air taxi type, aviation background of some sort (I include military in that) - now it's about one in ten FOs, if that.
Last edited by Joe le Taxi; 24th Jan 2022 at 15:57.