ChrisN, this probably belongs in a thread of it's own, but hand flying a FBW "protected" Airbus in normal law, requires a different skill set than does hand flying a non "protected - normal law" aircraft. That in itself is not a bad thing. I have no problem switching between a simple Cherokee 180 and a FBW Airbus. The skill sets are different and it is quite simple to fly each with the appropriate skill set.
You wrote:
Originally Posted by ChrisN
ATPL’s should comment rather than people like me, but I would have thought any manual practice in line flying is almost useless if just taking over from AP when in level cruise. I have noted several older pilots talking about taking every opportunity, SOPs etc. permitting, to do descents, climbs, and other things that are more active, to keep current; and deploring the modern tendency to keep hands off and let AP do it all.
In my line of (office) work, some of us used to query whether somebody claiming years of experience really only had about 1 year, repeated multiple times. I wonder about flying hours the same way (as somebody else here hinted at) – thousands of hours might be mostly thousands of times doing the same sort of hour, letting AP do it all, with actual decision making and manipulating controls being – what? A few hundred?
I would be interested in informed answers to that.
I'm not certain what it is you are asking, but I'll attempt to answer the question I perceive you to ask.
The skill set required to hand fly a transport category swept wing turbojet at normal cruise altitudes with no abnormals and in fair meteorological conditions is FAR different than the skill set required to hand fly the same aircraft when said aircraft is turned over to the pilot in an abnormal situation in bad weather. (An additional bit of information you should know is that RVSM rules effectively outlaw hand flying at cruise.) Hand flying the above described aircraft at cruise in optimal conditions requires nothing more than a normal instrument scan and minor corrections. So yes, the skills required to hand fly in optimal conditions would not necessarily transfer to "recovering" the same aircraft when the A/P hands the pilots an unknown and abnormal situation. This is similar to the difference between a normal take off and one that includes a critical engine failure. If you take a proficient single engine pilot (centerline thrust) and put him/her in a light twin and include an engine failure on his first take off, with no previous demonstration or instruction in engine failure procedures, his performance is likely to be unsuccessful.
As mentioned, the skill set required to hand fly our aircraft in an abnormal would be FAR different than normal straight and level. The only solution would be to provide pilots with practice dealing with some of the potential abnormals.
The autopilot on my A320 disconnects at cruise with some regularity. Sometimes I do it myself when my Jeppesen manual bumps the disconnect button, sometimes it's the FO,..... Whatever the reason, the A/P disconnects, you take the controls and then re-select the A/P. Simple. I have never in my career, been handed an aircraft under the following conditions: at night, in turbulence, with questionable instrumentation, and in a questionable attitude. Neither can I think of any way in which to practice such a scenario.