About Reflexes
Unfortunately, when a pilot becames proficient in instrument flying and his reflexes on bringing back pitch and roll are sharp, then he goes to airline piloting. It is SOP to takeoff and in less than 5 minutes turn on the AP.
I wonder how many hands on (on type) flight time an experienced pilot (say, 5.000 hours) has.
I wonder if nowadays an airline pilot is able to hand fly his Airbus or Boeing from takeoff to FL 370 and hold it there for one hour smoothly, without sweating.
I can almost bet that this is prohibited by Ops Manual, or Regs.
All those sharp reflexes are long gone, and learn to hand fly smoothly only in an emergency, in only three minutes, how this is possible?
IMHO, in long duration flights, pilots should hand fly for at least one hour. And this would mean only 10% on the flight.
What is the percentage of hands on flying, nowadays, on a 10 hour flight?
One percent, maybe?
Many here will remember how difficult it was to believe the instruments on the beginning of IFR training, on real IMC conditions.
And, IMHO, the only way to stay proficient in IMC is flying with no AP. Flight SIM is kind'a OK, but how many SIM flight time an airline pilot gets in a month?
I think these pilots (AF 447) were good pilots, but they were victims of the system.