I agree with your posts. However it is easily possible to fly "through" the flight director, especially upon take off and initial climb. It is a very useful exercise. You simply need to rotate to your anticipated pitch, check your expected speed trend (more or less 0) and then adjust this pitch throughout the thrust reduction and the clean up.
You will more often than not see the aircraft symbol nicely because the flight director will need a few moments to complete its "dolphin movements" and show different, until it has established its computations and, if you got your part right and smooth, finally joined your attitude. Then you can engage the autopilot. If you do it nicely, the passengers will thank you because you will have settled into a very small and comfortable pitch variance throughout your manoeuvring, as opposed to when you'd follow the FD through its initial interpolations between max and min pitch oscillations .....
The same applies during approach. Manual flying with the FD once configured is easy and has no learning effect. You can leave the FD on, but dirty-up the plane yourself with anticipated pitch changes. Once again the FD will catch-up with you once nicely established and in F-class the PITA's will have been able to sip their last coffee without spilling the slightest drop ......
Last edited by Gretchenfrage; 2nd February 2013 at 12:25.