The Magenta Line - McClellan article

[martymayes]

Any skill that is not regularly exercised will atrophy. Fly around with the autopilot on from takeoff to touchdown and stick and rudder skills will deteriorate. Don't practice navigating (pushing a "direct to" button is not navigating) and those skills deteriorate. Despite making a task easier, at some point there has to be a balance between fundamental motor skills of flying an aircraft and high tech. Right now I think the fundamentals are suffering because too many are enamored with the latest gizmo.

On the other hand, my way of thinking may be completely obsolete. For all I know, the pilot model for the new age aviator may be someone that has just enough skill to get the aircraft on/off the ground. Once airborne he can rely on technology to do the rest and when that fails pull the parachute handle. I imagine it won't take too much longer to get the takoff and landing part automated as well. Push a button to takeoff, push a button to land and pull handle in an emergency. The rest of the time can be utilized to take selfies and instantly posting to social media via datalink until arriving at destination. The flying aspect will be a side bar to the event.