Salute!
TNX for the list of priorities, 100%.
I don't have multi-dozens of thousand hours. I was only a lite puke and we had many more landings than hours. Sorry, but that's the best I was offered and I did it.
I flew "coupled" autopilot ILS approaches in the VooDoo back in the 60's, and it was neat. OTOH, I had a paddle switch on the stick that disconnected everything except the basic control laws the jet had. So if I saw something that didn't look right I could squeeze the paddle and level, land or go around ( TOGA mode, but no computers).
I appreciate all the aids that the current folks have. Make no mistake. I debated use of the HUD with many folks that were the "cigar-chomping" mossbacks that claimed you had to fly the approach using the steam gauges. I could do that. I also enjoyed cross-checking the steam gauges with the fancy HUD display of the approach angles and such. No autopilot connect for the SLUF and the Viper.
I just worry about the new folks that might be tempted to rely too much on the automation. I am worried about basic flying skills that can be degraded by using all the gizmo's so much that basic airmanship will come into question when a crash occurs. Should not be that way. Sully proved you can fly the Airbus very well with virtually zero assistance from all the avionic connections. So the plane must have decent basic flight control laws. It's all the other connections with the flight controls that bugs me.
My last fear is that the "other guy/gal" might not speak up when the pilot-in-command is doing something screwy. My NWA buddy has talked about a philosophy of using both folks at the pointy end to cross-check each other and speak up when something didn't look right. My only experience in two-seaters was a navigator in the back seat that would calmly mention I was "pressing". Heeded his advice a few times and am still here to relate war stories.
I'll sit back now and look for the CVR and DFR to figure this one out.
Thanks to all the current professional folks here that fly these new planes and have contributed to this thread.
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