Some interesting replies, mainly as I expected, from you guys that do maintain your manual flying skills.
SNS3Guppy has tried to infer that "most operators do take that opportunity", but IMHO he is incorrect......most operators do NOT, and as posted here, some OM's/CP's positively
discourage crews from flying with the A/P and A/T disengaged.
I chuckled at Flintster's honest appraisal of his hand flying skills (or lack of proficiency thereof!), because I believe that is where MOST guys are at....myself included. I have flown with several captains, who by virtue of their backgrounds (Test-pilots, flying older types with unreliable/no A/Ps etc.), hand fly the entire flight, and no-one in the back would know. Some of those pros aren't really comfortable using the "new-fangled" automated systems, but their scan, feel, ability and practice make them very smooth "manual operators".
SNS3G's assertion that
regular recurrent training
should suffice is exactly what I'm saying is NOT sufficient. Sure, if you are on a full service contract and you go to the sim at least twice a year, you will do twice as much as most people who only go once a year....if they're lucky! The simulators are excellent tools for reinforcing skills and drills needed for critical system failures, practicing emergencies that CANNOT be done on the actual a/c, but they absolutely do not replicate the "shock, sounds and sensations" of real-life malfunctions.
There is no reason that I can think of, why you should not pull back a power lever during climb out on an empty sector, just to experience what your normally grossly over-powered rocket REALLY feels like on half power. The aim of this thread was to provoke a little introspection, and see if in these days of ultra-reliable and fully automated aeroplanes, we could help ourselves to maintain those diminishing hand flying skills.