Capt NG,
Very well done and said sir.
A US airline yrs ago, cannot remember which one, used to do something similar in its line training with new pilots.
Cannot remember whether during the line training Captains worked up thru the automation levels starting from raw data, no moving map, fully manual flying and do it by brain etc to full FMS integration or down the other way as you are doing but the benefits for the new pilots were huge.
Taught them, (drummed into them), whichever way it was done that they could fly the plane like a piston twin with raw data and brain power with ALL the automatic everything turned off and it still flies like an aeroplane because it is just an aeroplane!!
It is NOT a flying keyboard and bunch of computer systems (or a video game), like too many designers, engineers and managers think these days!!
The rest of the goodies are there to make things easier, at the right times, NOT to be used slavishly for every last minute of flight and in every situation.
See the above video link I posted. He reiterates all that very well, along with the fact that the automatics do not know what the word "NOW" means, nor can they ever respond that way, and that too many pilots are relying on the automatics to save the day or situation when it all turns to sh.., .....errr,.... goes pear shaped.
Someone told me a long time ago to remember that any aeroplane no matter how big or sophisticated has a wing and engines and your job was to fly and mange them both first above all else.
If those 2 things were within their limitations/ envelopes and doing what they should be doing you would fly along OK.
We saw with Air France what happens when one of those 2 essential things is not.
