I am sure that things get a little more fun as the captain. You might get away with having the AP off a bit more. In addition a seasoned FO who is on friendly terms with the captain might also get away with some additional hands on flying, but nothing will erase the fact that at best it is all straight and level flying with a few shallow banked turns thrown in on VFR days. Some companies limit hands on flying severely.


Most modern jets are grounded if the AP is inop. You guys can attempt to glamorise it as much as you wish but you all know that I am right. Most of the time and especially when the chips are down the AP is on, you have very little control over things and the manual is always right. I doesn't take a Chuck Yeager to make it as an airline pilot. In fact the opposite is necessary.

SkyHigh