A37575:
To answer you first. I had heard some some curious 'go their own way' pilots who did this as a matter of course. Very non-standard. They considered that in the event of a G/A they would have the luxury of an A/P G/A. They did this even in VMC conditions on the assumption that they would disconnect before the nose-up trim was introduced. I agree with your sentiments about flying abilities.
Denti:
Your C.P seems to be misguided in many matters. A dual A/P approach with a requirement to disconnect before 400'agl. Hm? Curious. What consideration is given to Wx & minima? Close to Cat 1 on a Cat 1 installation? But then a man land? What do you do for a NPA? What do you do for a visual approach? Either you can fly a manual G/A or you can't!
Secondly; and back to my original question, and your company seems a classic example of misusing the NG a/c. You are flying a dual A/P approach expecting a manual landing. Requirement to disconnect before 400' agl. You also fly an NG a/c certified to engage the A/P at 400' agl on departure but you do not do so until flaps up. Why?
Somewhere I am missing something because this seems a crass condradiction of not using the a/c the way it was designed.
People: Why do we wait until Flaps up before engaging the A/P?
And once again: If the A/P will descend the a/c before ALT HLD so will the F.D. but it wont. It will accelerate in level flight V/S = zero to regain speed if below V2. It will desend if you do not fly the FD accurately.
And to answer A37575's earlier post about hand flying on departure. And Oh dear Mad Macho MIke has been Munching on the Crunchy bars and Cracking coconuts between his biceps again. The old argument of Right stuff versus common sense. I can, if I want to, fly the Red Bull air race course inverted with one eye closed. No bother. I might kill myself, and hopefully only myself.
On a dark !!!!ty night with a major failure, siiting at the sharp end of an aluminium tube full of pax + me, is not the time to show a 500 hr sprog what a Top Gun star I am. It is the time to use whatever resources are at hand to deliver all said & sundry to terra firma in one piece with no more broken than the original failure. That is what medals are won for. Scaring !!!! out of myself is left for days off in the right type of a/c on my own. If the A/P is broke I can handle it, but if it ain't broke then I am expected to use it. The F.D. is certified down below CAT 1 minima. Will anyone stand up and advocate flying LVO manually? Nuff said.
A skillful pilot is one who uses his skill to aviod situations where his skilled is needed to extricate himself.
Can anyone answer the original question from a technical reason?