ItnStln

If I were a betting man, which I am, I’d say reliance on electronics will only get worse.

Floyd

Up until the Captain stops offering legs. There's no guarantee that the FO gets to fly. Yes, we always swap but if I'm uncomfortable then I'm flying.

ItnStln

That makes sense.

Regularguy

Don't feel guilty about anything, you have far more experience than many of our pilots did who are now long retired. Back in the late 60s United hired pilots with only a Private Pilot license and then paid for their Commercial and Instrument at Clinton Aviation in Denver. Some even rose to the highest positions in ALPA (think MEC Chair) and were Standards Captains (check pilots) at the Training Center.

I think what rubs many wrong is they either had to wait out the slump in the business during the past decade(s) or their friend and acquaintances aren't getting called with substantially more experience/flight time.

Here's what I see in the brief description you gave us that may have intrigued UAL's hiring staff.

Leadership and determination, you never stopped developing your skills and desires, you stepped up to fill a need and have shown leadership at one of the worlds premier flight training facilities. Now does that trump 10,000 hours in an RJ? Well you got hired, congrats!

Zenofzin

I’m not seeing that at all on the 737, most guys seem to hand fly the approach, curious what equipment your on?

Floyd

Define approach. I see many (30-40%) who aren't kicking off AP until well after GS capture. AT is on until below 500'. They stay on AP with APP armed, join the LOC with a quick bank angle and dive down to and level off at GS intercept alt.

Freight Dawg

I'm also on the '37 and have had a very different experience. Ever since I came back to this fleet, the A/P reliance has been much higher than in the past. It used to be guys flew to low twenties on the way up and usually kicked it off in the mid to high teens. Now it's rare for an F/O to kick it off until it's fully configured with G/S capture. If there's any weather, they don't kick it off until the runway is in sight. It's night and day from when I was last on this plane in the late 2000's.

757Driver

There is a flip side to that. I’ve been the lucky recipient of Mr. Toads wild ride several times by F/O’s insisting on hand flying starting at 20-30k on the descent. Im sure the pax were wondering what the hell was going on up front so be careful what you wish for.

Some can pull it off while many can’t.

Broncofan

Many captains I fly with think they can hand fly it from 10000, and while some can very well, I'd say the majority of the time I'm having to remind them of things on the way down, also having to remind them of what act said. And I dont think I've ever seen anyone do it as smooth as George can. In my opinion if cleared for the visual have at it, when needing to comply with altitude, and speed restrictions, why wouldn't you want the highest level of automation to help out.

badflaps

And to think I got rid of my last "sigificant other" because she couldn't drive stick.