Hand flying vs. Autopilot

[Uncle Bunkle]

I absolutely love it when the other guy kicks off the autopilot 40 miles out from landing, then proceeds to fly all over the friggin sky like a bat on a mosquito hunt. Hey all you RJ jockeys who can't hold altitude worth a crap, or constantly zig zag back and forth chasing the localizer (on a VFR approach no less): Leave the freakin AP on and quit embarrassing yourselves.
And when landing on a 10,000' runway, why must you slam on the brakes and go full reverse thrust just to make the first highspeed and perhaps save 10 seconds on the taxi? Why?
That's all.

 

[777forever]

To add, why are the NWA 747s heading to all the way to Hawaii lining up on the numbers WITHOUT a "heavy turn" but we have RJ drivers on the way to KBHM doing "heavy turns" to line up on the piano keys saving all the runway they can on an 11,000ft runway? Embarrassing....

 

[PA44Jockey]

To add, why are the NWA 747s heading to all the way to Hawaii lining up on the numbers WITHOUT a "heavy turn" but we have RJ drivers on the way to KBHM doing "heavy turns" to line up on the piano keys saving all the runway they can on an 11,000ft runway? Embarrassing....

Not sure about that, but can I have some of that brown sugar on the couch?

<===========

 

[JohnnyP]

....

To add, why are the NWA 747s heading to all the way to Hawaii lining up on the numbers WITHOUT a "heavy turn" but we have RJ drivers on the way to KBHM doing "heavy turns" to line up on the piano keys saving all the runway they can on an 11,000ft runway? Embarrassing....

I see a decent amount of people who get really spooled-up and make posts over guys who wanna use as much runway as they can for takeoff....I mean who cares, he/she is staying on the safe/conservative end of things...(no matter what their real intentions are)....

trust me, it could be a lot worse, you guys must have never really experienced flying with/and around some real whackjob cowboys who did'nt really care about much at all.

If all i had to complain about was someones use of a squared off turn on lineup, id be a happy dude....

 

[701EV]

I absolutely love it when the other guy kicks off the autopilot 40 miles out from landing, then proceeds to fly all over the friggin sky like a bat on a mosquito hunt. Hey all you RJ jockeys who can't hold altitude worth a crap, or constantly zig zag back and forth chasing the localizer (on a VFR approach no less): Leave the freakin AP on and quit embarrassing yourselves.
And when landing on a 10,000' runway, why must you slam on the brakes and go full reverse thrust just to make the first highspeed and perhaps save 10 seconds on the taxi? Why
That's all.

Just so you could whine about it!

Didn't you mother teach you just to worry about yourself and not everyone else!

Dude life is to short!

701EV

 

[sunlitpath]

If they are that bad at hand flying, then they need the practice. Maybe you can help them with a little critique.

 

[say again]

There are pilots with horrible hand flying skills at all levels. He is just anti-regional, take what he says w/ a grain of salt.

 

[Minimaniac]

I am all for hand flying if the workload permits (picking your way through storms while IMC is not the best time...you should be watching the radar). My big gripe is with people who "handfly" hands off, and keep trying to trim the plane to fly itself. They let go, the plane turns or climbs, they quickly snap it back, trim a little, and try again. You are never going to get these airliners trimmed out right. The flight attendants walking in the back will throw off your pitch, and numerous things will send the aircraft into a roll. Just keep one hand on the yoke, make the smoothest inputs the situation allows, and you will be fine. Fly it like a 172, and you will just leave the passengers wondering how you keep your license.

Practice makes perfect, but if you are having issues that leg, just put the autopilot on and try again next time.

Also remember that passengers notice. They are used to mainline flights, which are most often A/P on from flaps up to Vapp. If you can't fly as smooth as the autopilot, then you are giving the people a worse ride than they expect, which leaves a lasting negative impression.

Yes, there are lots of situations where hand flying makes more sense, and when a rough hand flying job is preferable to an even rougher job by George. But in general, keep the autopilot on unless you can do it better.

 

[Max Q]

Oh for f(beep)cks sake. Another one of these threads?

 

[crj567]

I absolutely love it when the other guy kicks off the autopilot 40 miles out from landing, then proceeds to fly all over the friggin sky like a bat on a mosquito hunt. Hey all you RJ jockeys who can't hold altitude worth a crap, or constantly zig zag back and forth chasing the localizer (on a VFR approach no less): Leave the freakin AP on and quit embarrassing yourselves.
And when landing on a 10,000' runway, why must you slam on the brakes and go full reverse thrust just to make the first highspeed and perhaps save 10 seconds on the taxi? Why?
That's all.

I see you have flown with the illustrious "Gen Lee."

 

[Metro752]

If they are that bad at hand flying, then they need the practice. Maybe you can help them with a little critique.

What he said.

They shouldn't be using much autopilot if their skills are that bad.

 

[Jar Jar]

To the CRJ jocks: we can hear you disconnect at 200 ft. every time as far back as row 9.

 

[mynameisjim]

The only problem I have with the 'heavy turn' on to the runway is that it is usually followed by a flex thrust or derated takeoff. They save as much runway as they can and follow it with a 20% reduction which wastes runway anyway.

 

[say again]

The only problem I have with the 'heavy turn' on to the runway is that it is usually followed by a flex thrust or derated takeoff. They save as much runway as they can and follow it with a 20% reduction which wastes runway anyway.

The only problem I have is why people actually give a rats a$$ what other people do, especially since it doesnt affect/concern them in the first place.

 

[Max Q]

It's nice going in to work, having conditioned myself to truly not give a flying damn what the guy next to me is doing. Fortunately, 99% of the guys I work with are great people and stellar pilots to boot.

Now if only I could return the favor.

 

[BUDDHA145]

To the CRJ jocks: we can hear you disconnect at 200 ft. every time as far back as row 9.

HAHAHA...ok is true but we also know that the reason mainline dont do it is cause you dont know if you be able to keep it up!!!!

you buch of limpies!!!

 

[PeanuckleCRJ]

The only problem I have with the 'heavy turn' on to the runway is that it is usually followed by a flex thrust or derated takeoff. They save as much runway as they can and follow it with a 20% reduction which wastes runway anyway.

What a stupid comment.

Derate/flex saves engines..which can save your butt one of these days... not to mention makes it much less likely to blow a motor on takeoff.

Who cares if someone "heavy turns?" It's their runway. Runway behind you is of no use if something goes wrong.

 

[G2T]

Making a big boy turn when I'm told to position and hold on the runway and have nothing better to do for a minute is one of the few joys I have in my day, what's wrong with that?

 

[Captainzero1]

I have seen big boy turns done in TP, gimme a break on that one.

 

[shamrock]

Can somebody explain to me the use of "heavy turns" when turning from a parallel taxiway to hold short at the end of the runway? Is being exactly perpendicular to the runway when holding short really that important? I don't really care if anybody does it, I'm just curious as to why. Kind of like the "how long is final" thing...