Hey Hudson,
It is not surprising to read these posts because they demonstrate how automation has not only blunted pure flying ability but it also encourages a mental fear where suddenly it becomes almost a Mayday situation to execute a normal two engine GA using autothrottle, FD and hands on the stick handling.
I know what you mean, but I'm not quite sure how you got all of that from these posts! Maybe a bit unfair?
Having said that, in general terms I agree there are some these days who seem very shy about just going back to basics and flying the aeroplane.
Even had a new pilot in the simulator talking about raw data braking. He meant manual (non-automatic braking) which to him was almost a PAN situation.
Now that tickled me!
