I just keep flying the thing. Unfortunately I have to keep the ATHR and FD in with this new FCI. I used to disconnect them for virtually every approach where it was possible.
Doing that, I was not practising, that's something I did when I was a student pilot. What I do by switching off the automatics is just doing my job at MAINTAINING my skills.
Of course I agree that when flying in a busy airspace or in marginal weather conditions, that a pilot should use the automatics as much as possible, but I also think that whenever conditions permit, a pilot should FLY the aircraft.
How to decide where to do what should be up to the pilot, because every day is different, and a good judgement is just basic airmanship. Of course, that's something a lot of guys at EK miss... unfortunately
Let's see how long untill we make a GF go-around because we miss a basic scan...
MR8