Departures in manual flight at constant thrust are no big deal. If you're changing frequencies and chasing needles that's different, as it's lateral and the need to think ahead. In EFIS a/c, as someone said, following a magenta line is not really thinking ahead. However, visual approaches from anything upto 50nm out is a piloting pleasure, requires thinking ahead and not just following the VNAV diamond; even better turn it off. A manual visual low drag descending circuit with 180 direction change, or even 270 over the OM or the Rwy itself was SOP in needles & dials a/c in most of the charter destinations in the 80's & 90's. Somehow now, with more super-duper accurate TV presented MAP info some carriers discourage visual approaches and especially manual ones because crews mess them up and cause G/A's. What a statement about the qualities of todays pilots. Very sad. The most basic of avaiation manouevres is frowned upon. All that base training was for naught because they don't want you to do it with pax on board. It's too dangerous. The industry has progressed backwards. If you couldn't fly a competant visual approach at night on line in a B732 you didn't get command. Simple.