Machinbird;
Are modern day pilots still being taught to hand fly such exercises at any stage in their training?
No, not to my knowledge and I keep in touch as best I can.
John T.
Very much confidence building and the I/F stick and rudder skills skyrocketed.
And it needn't be a drawn-out thing. Both pilots can get some practise in, in half-an-hour and carry on with the rest of the script. It's not difficult, doesn't require Congress to be involved in any new FAA regs and as you say, builds tremendous confidence. It was the most frustrating thing, to watch guys give up the opportunity to fly no matter what I said I'd help with. It's not difficult stuff but you can lose the touch and overcontrol quite easily, (seen it in the sim). What happened with the roll isn't serious but perhaps the PF didn't know that. I think that's all that happened with the PF trying to get the little bit of roll under control - don't stir the porridge...just set the stick in one position and hold it, wait for the massive machine to settle down, then tiny movements...But if you don't have the touch due to lack of training and experience, confidence in your solutions in trying to bring the airplane back with the stick can erode very quickly if you see yourself making a hash of things. It isn't complicated - it's what we used to routinely do.