"Handflying is a lost art. Those of us who have spent 1000s of hours beating around in all weather, summer winter, day, dark in light twins will gain not just a deep understanding of coping with weather and reading the sky but also an instinctive understanding and an ability to make judgement s on your own plus a certain amount of creative flying which wouldn't fit in the world of the airlines."
I never flew light twins and I am working for a major airline. But I fly manually since 25 years, being tired and Vis blw 800m (FD required) made the only exceptions. It stays solely within the responsibility of every single pilot to stay in training. Management or training standards are no excuse, if someone fails to perform.
And so I saw a considerable increase of the spread within the last decade. Although we have four simulator events per year, this does nothing for the manual skills. It is the hours on line, which make the difference. This training is "for free" for the company. Some use it, and get better, or keep their high standard, and others don't.
Landing accidents make a big percentage nowadays. This does not surprise me. FD and autopilot don't help at the most demanding exercise.
Last edited by Baron737; 15th Apr 2015 at 09:02.