Ok this is a great Thread, but...Can someone please explain to me How you use the flight director, i have always thought it was to do with autopilot meaning that it had to be turned on in order to use the Autopilot.

The Flight Director is simply a vertical and horizontal line that goes through you artificial horizon. When both lines are in the center of the horizon, you are flying the same as the autopilot would fly, were it engaged.Now that is a very simplified explanation. Sometimes you don't have 2 lines but an inverted V and on modern aircraft, where the artificial horizon is replaced by an EADI or a PFD, flight director will appear in the respective display.Now to the operation.The flight director has 3 functions. One is to check if the autopilot is operating correctly, the other is to be able to preselect modes without engaging the autopilot (useful on the ground) and of course situational awareness (by knowing where to go if the system is set up correctly.)So by activating the flight director, you can start selecting different modes on the MCP (mode control panel, where the AP switches are located). As long as only the flight director(s) is/are on, the plane will not respond physically to any change of mode. Only the two lines (or the inverted V) will change to reflect what the autopilot WOULD be doing were it engaged. Following the two lines by deflecting the yoke will have you follow the path that is selected on the MCP.This is also a reason why both the flight director and the autopilot will follow the same commands (a typical type-rating question).This is a very brief summary of what the flight director will do and there will be a lot of differences from type to type and from airline to airline.If you have any more question, just shoot 'em!Hope this helped,RegardsMark