Re: Better pilot when I was an Instructor.....
I've always felt that currency is the key to good stick+rudder flying skills.
I noticed when I spent 2 months hour-building that my skills improved beyond recognition, but when I returned home and went back to flying at weekends when the weather was good, my skills soon dropped back down to their original level. When I started my CPL, my skills soon improved again, but once again this was only temporary, and any improvement disappeared soon after I finished the course. Now I fly as an instructor, 5 days a week, and my skills are once again back to their best.
I'm not quite sure how this fits in with your observation that your skills have deteriorated now you are in the airlines. Of course you are current, but what exactly is it that has caused your skills to deteriorate? More auto-pilot and less hands-on time? I doubt it - I don't get much hands-on time as an instructor, my students do most of the flying. I think that fewer landings is most likely the cause, but I don't know for sure. Would you agree, Lembrado?
FFF
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