Hands on

Flight directors, autopilots, and autothrottles can make operating your jet or turboprop safer and less fatiguing—but automation only helps if you stay firmly in command of the airplane. That’s the central thrust of FAA Advisory Circular 120-123, “Flight Path Management,” and it’s worth every turbine operator’s attention.

The advisory circular wasn’t written just for airlines. The FAA aimed it at all turbine operations, recognizing a hard truth: When things go wrong, the pilot must be able to hand-fly the airplane with confidence and precision. For owner-operators and corporate crews alike, this means we can’t allow automation to atrophy the very skills that keep us safe when the unexpected happens.

What AC 120-123 says

AC 120-123 lays out guidance on “flight path management,” which the FAA defines as controlling where the airplane is going, whether by automation or hand-flying. It’s not about eliminating automation—far from it. The circular emphasizes balance: Use automation to reduce workload when appropriate, but retain proficiency in manual flight to ensure you’re ready for abnormal events.

In practice, that means three big takeaways for turbine pilots:

Proficiency in manual flight must be maintained. This isn’t just about raw stick-and-rudder work. It includes hand-flying departures, climbs, descents, and approaches—not just landings.

Automation should be managed, not mandatory. Pilots must understand what their autopilot is doing and why. Blind reliance erodes awareness and invites trouble.

Training should focus on real-world scenarios. The FAA urges operators to use both simulators and line flying to emphasize abnormal situations where autopilot use might be unavailable or inappropriate. Unlike airline crews who might log 700 to 900 hours annually, most turbine owners fly significantly less. That reduced exposure means hand-flying skills can fade quickly, even as automation fills in the gaps. The danger is subtle: We become systems managers instead of pilots, and when the airplane demands direct control, we may find ourselves rusty at best—or even falling behind the airplane. There are moments when there isn’t time to get comfortable with “the feel” of your airplane again when something goes wrong. For instance, imagine an autopilot failure just as you’re about to level off for a crossing restriction, or a flight director taking the rest of the day off as you’re joining the localizer for an ILS approach to minimums. If your instrument scan isn’t sharp and your pitch-power-trim relationship isn’t second nature, you’ll be playing catch-up at the very moment you need confidence.

Building a culture of flight path management

For turbine operators, leaning into AC 120-123 means making conscious choices in daily flying to practice and protect manual skills. Some suggestions:

Plan hand-flying into your routine. On a short reposition leg in visual conditions, hand-fly the climb and descent. If it’s a short enough leg, hand-fly the whole thing. The flight director is still there for guidance, but actively fly the airplane and anticipate inputs needed before the flight director calls for them. You may find yourself flying the airplane more smoothly than the automation can manage when you’re thinking ahead rather than chasing the needles.

Brief automation strategies. Before every flight, talk through which automation you’ll use and when you’ll disengage it. If you’re in a crew environment, it prevents surprises when you disconnect the autopilot, and if you’re solo, having said it out loud helps to cement the plan so you don’t cheat yourself. A simple statement is all it takes. “I’ll disconnect the autopilot passing through 1,000 feet, but I’ll keep autothrottles and flight directors on until touchdown.”

Simulate failures. During recurrent sessions, ask your instructor to fail the autopilot or flight director at inopportune times. Practice raw data approaches, unusual attitude recoveries, and rejected landings. Make it uncomfortable, then master it. When the sim instructor says, “We’re all done, and there’s still 45 minutes left in the session,” that’s your chance to repeat anything you’re not absolutely confident in, or to try something you’ve not seen yet. An extra circle-to-land can give you a good look at the sort of thing you may go years without seeing in real-world IFR.

Retaining proficiency over the long haul

Proficiency isn’t built in a day; it’s maintained over your lifetime as an aviator. The FAA suggests that flight departments create programs for ongoing assessment, but for individuals, it comes down to discipline. A few ways to sustain that edge:

Fly different profiles. Don’t just hand-fly in smooth air and on clear days. Challenge yourself in turbulence, crosswinds, real IMC, or busy airspace (within reason).

Use technology wisely. Flight data monitoring tools, even simply reviewing past flights on FlightAware or ForeFlight track logs, can expose squiggles where you wanted straight lines.

Make hand-flying fun. Treat it as a point of pride. Challenge yourself to achieve precision flying, but keep some finesse about it. You might be the only one aboard to appreciate a smoothly flown raw-data ILS, or a touchdown squarely in the center of the 1,000-foot marker, but it’ll keep a smile at the corner of your lips for the rest of the day.

The payoff

At its core, AC 120-123 isn’t just regulatory guidance. It’s a reminder of why we became pilots in the first place. The joy of hand-flying a turbine airplane is real—but so is the responsibility. By weaving manual proficiency into everyday flying, turbine operators gain more than compliance; they gain resilience, confidence, and readiness for the rare but critical moments when the machine decides it has worked hard enough and hands the job back to you. As turbine operators, we owe ourselves the same standard. The autopilot is a marvelous tool, but it is not a crutch. If we work to balance automation with skill, it gives us a roadmap to safer, sharper flying.

Jeremy King is an airline pilot, A&P, and owner of a 1965 Mooney M20C.