Oh boy, this thread is gonna give all those insufferable braggarts who go on and on about how great their hand flying is. Face it, the world has changed! Aviation philosophy has changed. There is certainly a place for hand flying...where no PRNAV procedures required and with planes without the modern automation, or bush flying.
Most modern busy airspace require precision flying which the auto systems are required. I need not go into the details.
Anecdotal evidence; I did sim checks with old farts who swore on their great grandfather's names that they are flying aces who are 100% precise in flying manual.......most busted the limits of PRNAV SIDs and holding patterns. They screw up the proper use of automation and blame the whole world for it.
Come on folks; a delicate balance is required. There will always be situations beyond the capabilities of the automatics but there are also situations well beyond the self proclaimed perfect proficiencies of the manul flying aces.