The autopilot functions of an aircraft like the 225 make night flying a lot safer. The protection functions in the 225 autopilot minimise the risk of getting your feet wet if you get it wrong. To take value from the above, you have to use the autopilot or it is of no help. The "I used to fly the whole trip manually" attitude and I can do better than the autopilot is a thing of the past. In recent years offshore we have seen at least two accidents where had the autopilot been used correctly, there would have been a different outcome. There will precious little currency for any crew this season due to the low flying rate. All the more important to use all the help you can get.