thing...so what do you call the elevator of an airplane? what do you call an aileron, I mean, its french?

Lift as well, of course… that's where it comes from :}

Not surprising really being as British is a European language...Britain being a European country and all that...

My Dad God rest him used to make me laugh; he used to say 'We're off to Europe for a holiday.'

So your going from Europe to Europe then are you Dad? Bit like living in Idaho and saying you're going to America for a holiday...:).

Flarepilot: We allow the French to do stuff like naming bits of things, keeps them busy.

I probably have a different attitude than a lot of people. I spent most of my last ten years as an A320 captain. I tried to use the auto pilot as much as possible except for landings. I usually turned it on about 10,000 and turned it off about 200 ft. About once a month I would hand fly and approach or of course visuals need to be hand flown. Besides the A320 I am type rated in all the Boeings from 707 to 777 except the 737 which I flew as FO for 2 years. About half of my time in a 30 plus year flying career was in non-glass airplanes with no autothrottle and often a marginal autopilot. I guess I just got lazy in my old age, but to tell the truth the A320 is so easy to fly that once a month was plenty of hand flying. The only plane as easy to fly as the A320 is the 777.

How did you manage to fly the 737 for 2 years without a type rating?

FAA Rules in the old days
 

many FO did not have TR in them days...

Rick777

"but to tell the truth the A320 is so easy to fly that once a month was plenty of hand flying."

I have been trying to make the same point but perhaps it hurts the ego of some A320 pilots to accept. According to me anyone who needs four sectors everyday to keep hand flying profficiency in A320 is not a very talented pilot. It is good for him to fly four sectors but he cannot insist that those who don't are less professionals. Actually it is otherway round because they monitor many important aspects of flight other than mere manual flying.

Check Airman, I see you are it the USA. I'm surprised that you don't know that prior to around 2007 or so there was no P2 rating in the US. I was a FO on the 737-300/500 for two years in 1990/91.

Considering that Airbus jets are flight path stable, loss of AT would seem to make it quite a handful to fly would any airbus pilots like to comment on that?

Actually they are extremely easy to fly with A/T off, at least the A321 I flew for seven years. Provided the thrust changes are not too brusque, the aircraft will maintain its path, while any speed deviation is quickly spotted with the speed trend vector: if the trend vector points forward you pull the thrust levers back a little and viceversa. You simply set a flightpath with the side-stick and then control speed with the thrust levers. Really a sort of point-and-forget aircraft.

Almost too easy to handfly, and consequentially a handful when you go back to direct law (or a pre-777 Boeing or MD) because you are no longer used to monitoring attitude (and trimming) any longer! Or at least that was my experience.

M D thanks for the answer....sounds like a simple airplane to fly except in direct law..or