FD is an aid only at pilot discretion,
Agree. But I would guess that 99 percent of airline pilots - especially cadets - are lost without the crutch of a flight director. The training departments (simulator instructors) are at fault because they fail to understand that pilots should be taught that stick and rudder stills are the most important priorities in a pilot and the automatic goodies need to seen as aids - not the be all and end all of flying. As a simulator instructor I cannot ignore what I see and that is if the FD is deliberately switched off as part of hands on training, the usual result is significant out of tolerance instrument flying by the pilot.