Safetypee,
I agree, and I would go further and say that without hands-on manual flying, one's instrument scan WILL degrade and the chance of disorientation will increase, as will the inability to manually fly when the chips are down.
The physical interaction between hand (and feet) movements and resulting changes in attitude as observed by the eyes/brain is critical in maintaining IF skills. One will never get any benefit from simply watching, even intently, what the aircraft does on the automatics, regardless of how long you do it.
Last edited by Capn Bloggs : Yesterday at 22:30.
One thought would be to create a "skill honing" mode in the automation that would allow pilot input but still keep the plane within a safe box of altitude and heading etc.
Within that box the pilot would be in control of the aircraft, yet the overall safety gains (perceived or real
)from automation would be preserved.
I have no idea if this is realistic from either a techical or regulatory view.