Having just read the whole of this thread, I must say that a few years of stick and rudder commercial flying would be so advantageous for all pilots before jumping into a modern airliner.
I myself have been flying the stick out on the dark continent for several years and I am currently (and still) attempting to make it into the airline industry, mainly for stability and the better assurance of a paycheck each month.
Many pilots out here (and other places similar) manage to fly unautomated machines into some of the worst weather on the planet without the aid of WXradars and other equipment and encounter problems and emergencies frequently. NDB approaches are common for annual checks and I myself only the other day did a couple because I felt like it.
This is not an ego post or looking for sympathy but to show there are still pilots carrying out this work before making the 'jump up'. It is not directed at anyone either.
I find it shocking that worldwide there are programmes inplace putting fresh pilots from school into the RHS of a automated jet. I remember the day I got my CPL and being told its a license to learn. Well there hasn't been much learning for many pilots in that case (in terms of stick and rudder).
However some of us stick and rudder guys are frowned upon when applying for jobs in the airline field as we don't have '1000 hours on type' or '2000 hours greater than 20 tonnes'. I actually find this quite insulting. By the end of say a TR course and eventually been released to the line, there is little differnce between someone like myself and a newbie CPL aprt from one thing. My manual skills and will be much more honed and refined than the latter, and when s**t hits the fan, I know which one I would trust more.
So to sum it up I completely agree that more effort needs to go into manual flying training and personally believe every pilot should go and actually FLY for a while before hitting the big birds . If your company doesn't allow this then next time you find yourself on leave, why not go and rent a 152 (maybe take the wife or kids too for fun) and go get some stick practice. If the airline doesn't want to be responsible then YOU must be. At the end of the day if something goes wrong up there you might find it could save your life and everyone elses.
This is just my opinon and not intended for any slanging matches.
