Thanks Wiggy.
One really has to wonder about the competence of manual writer(s).
You have a system that you're never allowed to control manually, but you may dispatch with the auto mode inoperative, and are expected to fly the plane to the same level of precision- a task you have never attempted.
I don't know of any US carriers with that sort of automation policy. Does anyone have any theories on why European carriers seem to take these extreme policies?