With or Without Autopilot????

OK Folks!!! here's something i am just curious about...

When flying flights for SPA...or any other "commercial" flight do you use autopilot from takeoff to touch down...or do you use it little if at all???

I am just curious because the only thing I use A/P for is to hold cruising altitude! Whereas Climb, navigation, cruising speed, descent, approach and landing...I will do without the aid of autopilot...i find the challenge is more satisfying this way??? what do ye think???

Absolutely Cillian.

I used to do the same and I still do but only on props+turboprops on shorter flights. I do like to do the manual navigation or if I'm using FMC, I do have my radios manually tuned to the corresponding navaids.

Talking about A/P on approach, I like to land by hand instead of using ILS APR! Who cares if you do not land on the centerline. hehe

Naresh

Just take it easy on those controls so you don't shake up the coffee service in the cabin. Those passengers don't like hot coffee spilled all over them.

tbone:

Do whatever makes you happy!

In the real airline world it has changed over the years. When I started...the U.S. Army didn't put auto-pilots on their airplanes...nor did the first airline I flew for (piston airplanes) and we pilots took great pride in hand flying with smoothness and accuracy. Now days they teach to use the auto-pilot all the time.

When I took my IOE (initial operating experience) with AAL, on the last leg of a four day trip the IP said I had to show him I knew how to fly a auto-pilot coupled approach because all i had done for 4 days was hand fly the airplane...he needed to know I knew how to use the AP.

I personally used to to leave the AP off till above 10,000 feet on departure, and use it for cruise. Then turn it off again going thru 10,000 on descent, and hand fly most approaches that were CAT I and above.
The AP MUST fly CAT II or III approaches.

Rev:

I got FS9 setup with old early 1960s scenery and prop airliners from CalClassics. DC6B; CV340; C46; B377 etc.

If you like this stuff...the CV340 has a great old panel and the C46 looks great.

There is a "DC3 airways" on line that even has downloads for some of the real routes the old props use to fly.

They are a different breed than the jets for sure...but fun in their own right....low and slow and climb like slugs.

I use FSX for flying the jets...only because the old scenery only works in FS9.

Have a good day........