RE: Stick to the automatics, son
Tee Emm,
A well put argument! I concur that pure piloting skills have been eroded but what has replaced them?
Could it be improved management skills, situational awareness and extra layers of protection?
Yes, I have done all the things to which you allude. I have flown, (and stuffed up) raw DME arrivals, manual climbs departures etc etc. Yes, it is possible to still do them but to what point? Yes, if my poor neglected ego required boosting I would get great satisfaction out of doing without all of the modern aids; and perhaps my companions on the flight deck might be admiring perhaps not. But what would I be missing?
Would I, whilst hand-flying the ENTRA departure out of YSSY with NADP1 procedure, 5000' level off with multiple TCAS traffic and weather be in risk of flap overspeed or missing the 5000' level off? These have both happened.
Would I be in danger of missing visual traffic at Cambridge or missing the Company speed restrictions because I'm too busy mentally calculating my DME distance versus altitude or "eyeballing" my profile to the runway. Both of these have happened too.
The point is that the days of requiring sublime raw piloting skills are gone, sadly, and nothing can bring them back. The trainers (and I am not one) are correct. Use the automatics to their full extent and manage the situation.
Become an expert if you like at flying the aircraft on finals and managing it everywhere else, because that is what we are paid to do...to reduce risk. Everytime we hand-fly we significantly reduce the monitoring we are providing of the situation and this increases the risk. These are not the 60's or the 70's or even the 80's. Move on and accept the need for change.
With best wishes,
LV.