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How often does an airline pilot use the rudder pedals during flight? Is it only during takeoff and landing?
I am interested to know the rudder pedal usage time in minutes per average short range flight (A320, Domestic flights, ~1-2 hr flight duration). When on autopilot, the rudder control will be automatic. There are even automatic rudder trim features for most of the commercial aircraft.
Transport category aircraft have a yaw damper that will maintain coordinated flight when the aircraft is in the air unless the flying pilot overrides it with the rudder. It operates even if the autopilot is not in use. The usual procedure is that you take your feet off the rudder pedals as soon as you have lifted off and don't put them back on the rudder pedals until on short final.
The pilot will possibly use the rudder shortly before or going into the landing flare to slip into a crosswind and/or to align the aircraft with the runway if they were flying a crabbed final. However, with most if not all transport category there's nothing wrong with touching down in a crab correctly being flown to correct for a crosswind if desired.
So whether a short range light or a long haul flight, the amount of time in the air that the pilot needs their feet on the rudder pedals is minimal and is in seconds, at most a minute or so.
An exception, of course, is if there is an engine failure, in which case the pilot will use the rudder to counteract the adverse yaw from the asymmetrical thrust.
Note: this answer was written before the question was edited to only ask about airliners.
The answer varies a lot depending on the type of plane, but ideally, the pilot will manually apply rudder only rarely.
Rudder will be used to coordinate turns and to slip for crosswinds on landing (if not crabbing). Other than that, the rudder should be trimmed so the pilot doesn't need to manually apply it for straight and level flight.
Some small aircraft lack variable rudder trim; if the trim is not correct, they may need to apply rudder throughout the entire flight--and hopefully fix the trim tab before the next flight.
Single-engine planes will need some right rudder input during full power (e.g. takeoff and climb) due to the left-turning tendency. Multi-engine planes don't have that problem, but rudder is very important when dealing with a failed engine--which should be rare outside training.
A three-axie autopilot will apply rudder as needed to keep the plane coordinated. Small planes may have a one- or two-axis autopilot that requires manual coordination. And, of course, autopilot is not used for the entire flight; the pilot will have to use rudder manually during hand-flown portions such as takeoff and landing.
At low speeds any airplane needs the rudder to maintain direction and the ailerons to keep the wings level. That's why you see the pilot jockeying the yoke of an airliner during landing videos. I've not flown a 747 but did manage to finagle some time in a simulator once a long time ago. No expert but I found the technique worked there as well as it worked in the Aztecs and Bonanzas I did fly. I used rudders to maintain my heading during cruise and to coordinate turns. I also found many students did not grasp this though they had private licenses (or more) and even several hundred hours. Like any control, rudders need to be learned. I discovered when I first flew a Piper Cub many many moons ago that I could stick a bank on the airplane and if I didn't coordinate the turn the Cub would not turn so easily. In fact, it seemed to fly straight ahead with a bank on it! That taught me why you use rudders! I had been spoiled by the Cessna 150s I learned on (no criticism of the designers of frise-differential ailerons). An hour of practice banking a plane while trying to keep the nose at one point on the horizon may seem like a pointless exercise but it does ensure you can coordinate turns and tune you into the correlation of ailerons, rudders and elevators. The correct answer to the question would be "As many times as he needs to to coordinate his flight" I'm not being facetious. It depends on the conditions of flight as much as the airplane.
I am not sure about usage during autopilot, but without autopilot, you always keep your feet on the rudder pedals. Depending on the number of engine, it can have an engine configuration where it bias towards one side (as with one engine in front, for say a Cessna 172). To make a coordinated turn, one need the rudder, and to counteract the wind/drift to keep a straight course. So, pretty much always. There are no rudder trim to my knowledge, as the wind is never constant all along a mission, even if following a straight heading the whole time.
