labbats

As you gain experience you won’t need to hand fly all the time any more than you need to get a feel of driving your car.

I think you answered your own question. Many of us felt exactly like you did but all of us at your level are basically like a 16 or 17 year old who just can’t understand the driving techniques of your parents. Those captains have hand flown 1000s of times and don’t need to anymore. They have the skills and now allow themselves the ability to see and understand all around them instead of just putting all of their focus on one thing.

I’m sure you’re a good pilot and we can all relate but when I was a fresh FO and felt the same as you I was also repeatedly stunned when those same lazy captains would know exactly what to do in situations I had no answer for.

I can only speak for myself but I hand flew as a flight instructor and freight dog. I hand flew all the time as a new jet FO. I’m not afraid of hand flying but my time is better spent considering wake turbulence, windshear, proximity of other aircraft, monitoring FOs, what MELs may affect us, if this station has a good GPU or deice crew or will they need me to remind them to warm up the truck, what reports I need to fill out for a sick passenger or if they used an oxygen bottle for it that needs a MEL write up and how I plan to roll out and taxi in most efficiently. You on the other hand are focused on one thing only. A thing that most beside you mastered long ago.