May I add my two cents in this thread?
Thank you.
Hand flying is hand flying, even in the Columbia!
I am not sure if the … Boeing guys have any experience in the new Airbus fleet, but the maneuvers that you need to do, with autopilot and autothrust off are almost the same (as I recall from my Boeing days, and they were a lot!).
As a matter of fact, it would be more appropriate to put the yaw dumper off, even in the Boeing a/c and while we are at it, let’s switch the HYD off, so that the feeling will be completely “truthful”?
Let’s get serious. Hand flying, which is allowed and encouraged in my airline, is a very good practice. You need the practice, so that whenever you have one or two automations missing, you will be able to cope easier.
It doesn’t have to be completely manual and definitely you’re not going to do it into a busy airport, like LHR, for instance.