Lets hear it from those hands on Pilots!

[CrewF16 26]

I just finished a flight in my NGX into KCMH (Port Columbus Ohio) in a blowing snow storm at night, IFR from 17,000 down to 100 feet and they took me the long way around. I always hand fly most of the way up and always from TD. I was fighting 80 and 90 kt. cross tailwinds a lot of the way down and of course ATC delayed my decent. If someone showed it on you tube as a RW pilot trying to hold an altitude at times they would think he was drunk. The chute down the ILS was not real pretty either but the landing was good. I have had a lot of good flights this was a challenge, Love it.

 

Lets hear from you guys. Most videos (I do not know how to do them) I see are AP to final then hand land. How many of you like to hand fly your machines????

 

Thanks,

Ron

[Fabo 213]

Depends on how I feel. Mostly I feel on late evenings (one could say I simulate end-of-day pilot fatigue, hehe) so often I let it stabilise on ILS and takeover at that point. But I do enjoy being hands on when I am well rested. Especially when I fly in the Alps!

[Alaaar 34]

During my practice  for a check ride with my VA .....I hand flown the plane about 20 times performing a visual approach to JFK RWY13L, where turns were so steep, speed has to be very precise and altitude has to be maintained to the foot.....then touch down area is very short, touchdown speed is within a tight limit....It took me few flights to learn that.....specially with AT/ON then flaring ..........The best thing to me about the PMDG T7 is not how easy to handle but how it is behaving compared with other planes ......which feels so right and so great....The only way to feel the plane is to hand flying it

[serviceceiling 135]

I always hand-fly it during the climp maybe up to 10.000' - then I hit CMD.

Regarding the approach - sometimes I'll intercept the LOC and G/S and disconnect as soon as I have visual of the runway, sometimes I hand-fly VOR approaches, which is rarely the case but most of the time I use the ILS to get aligned and configured for landing and take over as soon as I can or as weather allows. 

[CrewF16 26]

That is my point Bogdan, flying the decent, intercepting the ILS, and stabilizing the approach is the hard part. Give it a shot. It can be very rewarding.

 

Thanks,

Ron

[AirbusCG 52]

I have to say that I have my plane on Autopilot most of the time.

I can fly it by hand and I know that. I do not have to proof it to myself each time.

I rather stick to the SOP which says Autopilot due to passenger comfort.

 

Sure, if weather permits and if I feel like I want to handfly the aircraft I do it... but I rather fly my C172 by hand than my 777.
The reason is not that I do not feel comfortable flying the 777, but rather that there are so many different things to concentrate on in the 777 that I prefer the AP to do the job of the PF that I most often do the PM job in the 777.

[joolsd 10]

Now I use FS2Crew, I can hand fly more with VATSIM. I hand fly the first turns of the SID and hand fly when visual with the runway on landing. Sometimes I fly the ILS, using the bean bars, as reference. I try and use the AP when established on a radial on the SID. I always enjoy using the AP. Why not take advantage of the systems, if work load is high? I feel it is easier the check stuff with the AP on. Maybe because FSX is quite restrictive from a vision point of view. Hand flying that high, (10000) doesn't really do it for me, Sometimes you just want to see how the plane flys by itself. As long as I know I'm the boss. Transision Alt is a lot higher in the US, so Alt10000 is just a small hight for you guys. I'd be hand flying at FL100 in The UK or Europe.

[Captain Kevin 586]

My attempt at flying the entire flight from Las Vegas to Los Angeles on the last stream I did 11 days ago. Could have done better if I was looking at the flight the whole time, but I also jumped between computers looking at chat and answering and questions people had.

 

http://www.twitch.tv/pw4056/b/483855620

[theflyingdutchmen 3]

I like to fly the SIDs and STARs all by hand. Keeps things fun and your skills sharp in my opinion. I know that some companies and pilots fly this way too. Pilots gotta keep busy somehow and actually fly the plane once in a while. 

 

I found a video the other day of a KLM flight and the FO disconnects AP at around 5000ft in IMC and flies it till touchdown. If you skip ahead to the 16 min mark it should be around there.

 

 

Cheers, 

Duco

[CrewF16 26]

Awesome video. I think he flew to 10,000 hands on. IMO if we could keep Bob in the back more instead of pulling him out at 500' at takeoff and 1,000' on landing safety stats would go up.

 

Thanks,

 

Ron

[rtodepart 761]

In the sim i had done the hand thing just before and after the TD alot of times . in RW now that im trying to move up from the (UPS)757s i had to face a few flights were i had take over just after the TD all the way down to the tarmac ......

[CrewF16 26]

What are you moving up to and how did those 757 flights from TD go?    (Don't forget to sign your post)

 

Thanks,

Ron

[zmak 331]

I have to say that I have my plane on Autopilot most of the time.

I can fly it by hand and I know that. I do not have to proof it to myself each time.

I rather stick to the SOP which says Autopilot due to passenger comfort.

 

Sure, if weather permits and if I feel like I want to handfly the aircraft I do it... but I rather fly my C172 by hand than my 777.

The reason is not that I do not feel comfortable flying the 777, but rather that there are so many different things to concentrate on in the 777 that I prefer the AP to do the job of the PF that I most often do the PM job in the 777.

 

 

"Sure, if weather permits and if I feel like I want to handfly the aircraft I do it... but I rather fly my C172 by hand than my 777."

 

Bang on! my sentiments exactly. Its far far more rewarding flying the duke twin v2 when on instruments especially if its a bit stormy.

 

I dont get much reward from flying the T777 in its true approach set up, with auto throttle ON. 

I do get a buzz hand flying the PMDG 737 with auto throttle off.

[CrewF16 26]

The results of the Asiana T7 crash investigation were released. There was a student Captain at the controls who was reserved about flying the approach. The crew was relying on the AP & AT It was found that the AT was not on and the Aircraft was too slow on the approach. Even if the AT was on the instructor should have had his hands on those throttles. (Or made sure the student did.) This is exactly what I am talking about here. Thank God there was not 300 passengers on board! 

 

 

Thanks,

Ron

[joolsd 10]

The results of the Asiana T7 crash investigation were released. There was a student Captain at the controls who was reserved about flying the approach. The crew was relying on the AP & AT It was found that the AT was not on and the Aircraft was too slow on the approach. Even if the AT was on the instructor should have had his hands on those throttles. (Or made sure the student did.) This is exactly what I am talking about here. Thank God there was not 300 passengers on board! 

 

 

Thanks,

Ron

 

AP is good if pilots use it in the right way, SOP and so on.  The trouble begins when pilots mix different disciplines up

You still have to watch what the aircraft is doing even if AP is on.

 

If you are in thick fog IMC conditions you have to fly a CAT 3 down to minimums. This is done with both APs.  Assuming the airport has this equipment. If not you would have to do a non precision approach using VORs. 

 

Ron are you saying that you like to monitor the instruments, but not necessarily  use the AP? Is this done with no visual cues from outside?   I  see where you are going from and so on, with situational awareness, providing you have your instruments?

 

There are couple of good Air Crash Investigations.  Which look at AP use, and pilots freezing at the controls etc. You probably seen these, but always good to watch again.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iq0ER7qou1c