Well from my standpoint, i am not hand flying (or for that matter flying in real time) a 12hr flight from Manchester to Manila.  Usually i hand fly to around TA, then on goes the AP, switching it off at TA on the other side.

 

...that being said, i switch between aircraft, so for every 12hr computer administration flight, i have several flights between the Scottish isles using the Twotter.

A lot of real world airline pilots turn off the autopilot, My dad was a 747-400 captain and would usually hand fly to cruise as well approaches to keep his skills sharp incase all the automation failed. Unless I'm literately forced not to hand fly the plane I'm going to when I get to the airlines. I don't want to end up like the Asiana pilot who botched a landing on a clear day or even worse the Air France pilot who kept pulling even though they were in a stall.

 

As you said, your dad WAS a 747 driver. Times have changed to some certain degree. I am with you that pilots (im active EMJ190 pilot) should keep up with there skills definitely. But nowadays with tight schedules and bad weather and/or bad ATC (some countries in europe refuse to talk english to their own aircraft, that is a real pain) alot of metal up in the air you think twice to disengage the autopilot or not :(

 

But please do not talk about accidents like the ones you just mentioned. There are more things needed to bring down an airliner. I refer to James Reason and his famous swiss cheese model and the error chain. 

Why? Cause they can and want to!

 

 

But please do not talk about accidents like the ones you just mentioned

A very salient and respectful thought towards all concerned. Hats off to you.

If I could only figure out the autopilot in the A2A Cherokee I would use it for all of my FSEconomy flights.

 

:blush2:

 

What I DO know is that I will still need to tend my IFR flights, even with AP, in case ATC alters my path due to traffic.

 Keep in mind that it's SOP at many of the airlines to use the AP within fairly strict guidlines. To hand fly to cruise or from the TOD is taking a big risk in efficiency and possibly safety as well that the company doesn't want you to do.   The joys of the home simulator is that you can do it however you want and not have to worry about being disciplined for negligence or anything of that sort.

I mix it up on my flights. Shorts flights of under an hour I'll hand fly 100%. I'll use the AP to reduce fatigue on long flights or in poor weather. It also allows me to focus on something else in the airplane, such as copy an amendment and punch in a new route, check frequencies, etc.

 

I do not fly any heavy or turbine aircraft.

 

Bladderboy,

 

Come on over to the A2A forums for help, or consult the real world STEC 30 AP manual for directions

Why? Cause they can and want to!

Exactly. It's your time, your home, your money you spent on all of it. Do what you want. If you want to do it real, research it and do what's real. If not, amuse and enjoy yourself how ever you want.

I fly a 737 99% of the time and typically hand fly after take off until I am on course and climbing for my first waypoint or two then the A/P gets the plane.  I don't want to hold the joystick for straight and level flight for 3 hours.    On approaches I use the autopilot right up until the plane is on stable final approach.  At around 2500feet above I kill the autopilot and hand fly it in.   I used autoland for a long long time but I watched and paid attention to what the plane was doing while autolanding.  It taught me what to do during manual landings.

If I could find out what the SOP is for a typical airline 'flight' (how long after Departure should one be at cruising altitude, when should Descent start, etc.), then maybe I'd be more confident flying the big iron and therefore, use the AP more!

 

Hats off to the folks who fly these birds on a regular basis, both in the Sim and IRL; this environment definitely ups the immersion level by quite a bit!

 

Also... don't be too hard on the OP for asking the question in the first place; to you big iron drivers out there, my query is probably a lot worse!

 

I think it's worth pointing out here that I have never exceeded 1.5 hours in a single flight. If I was going to attempt an eight hour cruise across the Atlantic, I think that the AP would be engaged very swiftly!

Generally with the jets I'll hand fly after takeoff til the plane is cleaned up, and at about 1000ft on final (If visibility allows)

This reminds me of the two AF447 pilots on the ill-fated Rio-Paris flight who took control while the more experienced captain took a rest break.

 

They had so little experience in hand flying they made fatal mistakes when attempting to get out of a dangerous (but not critical) situation.

 

Pilots are strongly encouraged to engage the autopilot as soon as possible after take-off usually for reasons of economy. It's not their choice.

 

When it comes to FSX I usually engage the autopilot simply because my lack of skills don't allow me to fly the aircraft well enough although I can usually land one reasonably well.

 

But engaging the a/p doesn't mean you can leave your brain back at the airport, Dial in something stupid and something bad will happen. It still takes some skill to use an autopilot effectively.

Yes well! Unfortunately the Captain also screwed up when he re-entered the cockpit. In fact he should never have left. For the sake of a 10-15 minute delay to his rest break. It was he after all that made the decision to head for the storm in the first place. The armed forces and British Airways would regard that as dereliction of duty in extremis.

Yes well! Unfortunately the Captain also screwed up when he re-entered the cockpit. In fact he should never have left. For the sake of a 10-15 minute delay to his rest break. It was he after all that made the decision to head for the storm in the first place. The armed forces and British Airways would regard that as dereliction of duty in extremis.

 

I wasn't aware of that fact. Maybe he had to take a break at that point for legal reasons. But the co-pilots shows poor judgement by not calling him back earlier as well as with their flying skills. I imagine rules have changed a lot since that accident.

In the context of this thread, remember that the AF447 pilots were hand-flying.