chris wrote:
I just remembered something you might be surprised about.. Our
national airline purchased 16 or so Beech 1900D turboprop airliners a
year or two back. They ordered them WITHOUT autopilot! They have to
be hand flown the whole time. Rationale was apparently that it keeps
the pilots sharp by making them fly the whole time.. Hell, even the
a/ c I fly has autopilot!!!!

In the late 70's and early 80's when I worked for Scheduled Skyways (Not as
a pilot) the Metroliners they flew didn't have autopilots. I asked the chief
pilot who had just been involved in buying another 2 or 3 planes why they
didn't have autopilots in them. His answer, "We're already paying for two
pilots why should we pay for a third?"