A 3Twenty, You must be an absolute joy to fly a fourteen hour day with!
When flying manually is allowed , I have no objections.Would you use to get upset when your FO didn`t want to fly manually? I don`t .Up to him.He is not neither better nor worst because he decided to fly AP all the time.
With that kind of comment Im sure you will find that you will be getting much less than the five minutes pole time you claim at the moment, you might like to try hand flying it a bit more, you might even enjoy it
For sure!! Since you are retired , you are not updated , but nowadays with RNAV SID`s and Approaches , you are not allowed to fly manually.Here in China , one RNAV dep. requires you to engage de AP not later than 500 Ft ( 1 minute).
During RNAV APP , AP is a requirement and for the approach ...Non-Precision or CATI , you can disconect it (~3 min.) . If you are going for a CAT II /III or RNAV..again you are not allowed.
Again , we have restrictions with the FOM.There are number of conditions to fly manually. Min.visibility of 5000 M , bla ,bla , bla.
More. Have you heard abot FOQA? Yes..nowadays , even your taxi speed is controlled.The speed you turn.The speed you enter in your gate.Otherwise....a cofee with the chief pilot( during your day off , of course).And you know? I`m not one of those guys who like to be around the chief pilot. I do prefer my family.
{By the way I was one of the very early drivers of the Bus, have also flown an open cockpit}
And what?? I like those old charming airplanes .I love them. I flew BT-19. But definetely they don`t apply for the comercial aviation anymore and we have to accept that.They had their time.
I`m not criticizing the old birds. I`m just saying that fight against the changes is useless. Or do you think that if all pilots complain the industry will bring the F/Es back??
People are so hard to accept changes that almost 25 years after the sidestick was implemented , you still hear people saying that it could`t be there.(like the auto thrust by the way).
To end-up:
Those who REALLY enjoy flying are those who have they own bird , or go to the airfields, rent one to enjoy the real flying.
Donīt tell me that one flying 90,100 hours a month in a very restricted airspace like the european one , with FOQAs recording your flight , and sometimes with one FO that you barely know , you will fly manually most of the time .Do you??
This is an era where most of the chief pilots , once they manage to seat their ass down in that chair , forget completely they once were pilots and go to the bean counters side.
I still like airplanes and the flight ( once doors are closed) , but all the environment you have to deal with to have the chance to fly and bring a shorter salary home...I`m tired out.There was a time when this still was a profession of gentlemen...
A-3TWENTY