My opinion....that's all...
My opinion, that's all,
The Bus is a great flying airplane. It's well-balanced,
aerodynamically-honest.
And, remember the eight Airbus Golden Rules....one of which is
(paraphrase)....If the thing ain't doing what you want (or expect),
take over.
My old airline 'discouraged' flight without the A/Thr. In fact, it was
prohibited unless there was some sort of abnormal or problem.
That's OK....I can live with that....but, again, if you have to reduce
the level of automation to get the job done, no one in his right mind
can gig you for doing what you need to do. Certainly, if the paper
pushers want to discipline you for such action, a call to the FAA
and the NTSB will hammer the ignorance quickly.
BTW, those eight golden rules are available on-line....always good
to review.
Fly safe,
PantLoad