We are now so entrenched in such high levels of automation that it's too late to turn back time & actually fly a plane using skills long since lost.
The A/C of today are simply not designed to be manipulated manually other than in a basic fashion by a human purely in the interest of safety, that word that is used to protect & serve to avoid the crazy litigious world we now live in!
We still have A/C made of the same stuff,primarily aluminum etc: the speeds of yesterdays machines & today's haven't changed BUT the guy behind the steering wheel is changing or evolving & not for the best either in my opinion.
ALL the A/C manufacturers are now fully geared up to produce even more automation & this is the selling point of modern hardware in the future,not the need for or installation of experienced pilots from days gone by, they/us/we oldies are a dieing breed & will soon be 'bred' out of the cockpit altogether.
Soon in the not too distant future there won't be a single pilot around flying who has raw flying experience, system operators only will prevail up front in rows 1A&B to protect & serve!.
Some old retired pilots would have sat upon their verandah's watching aviation change many years ago right before their eyes to what we have today, but that same scene is being played out again.