SLFinAZ,
I sympathise with large parts of your post, and am impressed by your grasp of many of the issues. (Sure you haven‘t missed your vocation?)
By the early 1990s, our A320 fleet was taking cadets (yes) straight out of flying school. Even on FBW, it was clear that some had better basic handling skills and hand/eye coordination than others... When they later converted to B747 (to go long-haul, as the airline didn‘t have A330/A340) or the B757/767 (sometimes for commands!) they really had their work cut out. Trimming? What’s that? But, in most cases, they seemed to cope better than we expected.
Where I can’t agree with you is your reluctance to fly in Airbuses. Airbus pilots fly Airbuses as well and as safely as Boeing pilots fly Boeings, IMO; not that I pretend to be an expert on the current skills of either.
Lyman,
I understand your argument (I think!). But you paint a very jaundiced view of what is now a very well-proven system. I’ll leave others to provide the statistics, but the Boeing FBW fleet is still miniscule in comparison with Airbus’s, and it’s all long-haul.