The Portland ATC told the FBI that 305 was east of PDX.

The Troutdale ATC said that 305 was west of PDX.

I'd be curious of the timing of these reports because both are correct.

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For the record, Flyjack's red line can also be dismissed.  At several points, the airliner is about 3 nautical miles from the centerline of V-23.  Other things being equal, aircraft are expected to stay on the centerline of Victor airways and there is a regulation stating that.  If the flight crew couldn't keep the aircraft on the centerline, then their autopilot certainly could.  Even the simplest wing leveler in a Cessna 150 could do that.

That's not the case in the matter, they were given the sky in order to keep everyone safe. most regulations went out the door with this problem. I believe they are expected to stay within the boundaries, unless in controlled airspace. why have them 8 miles wide?

Unless authorized by ATC, to operate an aircraft within controlled airspace under IFR, pilots must either fly ALONG the centerline when on a Federal airway or, on routes other than Federal airways, along the direct course between NAVAIDs or fixes defining the route

Just because a simple route can be layed out certainly doesn't imply that's what occurred? none of the crew said anything about why they would be looking miles away from where they actually were, or mention how simple they could layout the path within several minutes..

It is certainly true that the airliner crew were told they could make any deviation necessary to V-23 and that ATC would keep other aircraft out of their way.  But that does not explain why they were wandering so far from the V-23 centerline, particularly in the Portland area.

South of Portland, the airliner would almost certainly want to stay on the centerline of V-23 due to concerns with the MOCA (Minimum Obstacle Clearance Altitude) and MCA (Minimum Communications Altitude) among other things.  In some segments of V-23, 10,000 is the minimum altitude that any aircraft could meet those minimums.  Even in the Portland area, the MCA for the Malay Intersection is 9500 feet.

Just staying on the centerline of V-23 does not require a superhuman effort.  If the airliner wanted to bypass Portland with what they thought was a bomb onboard, the west side would be the logical choice.  Even now Georger has admitted that his sources, apparently including FBI agents, were saying 10 years ago that the airliner bypassed Portland on the west side.   

The autopilot has been a point of contention.

The 302s show that Paul Soderlind believed the plane was on autopilot. Statements by Bill Rataczak decades later indicate that he was hand flying the aircraft until they reached Reno.

The FBI believed Soderlind.

My personal feelings on the autopilot are two-fold. One, it could be a combination of manual flying and autopilot. They may have flown a portion of the route on autopilot and other portions manually. Another possibility is that it was a different mode of autopilot. There is a great explanation of that here:

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Secondly, whether the autopilot was engaged or not is really a moot point. We know the plane flew down Victor 23. Whether they hand flew it or whether it was on autopilot, we know the flight path. Usually, the only people who care about the autopilot are those looking to poke holes in the USAF flight path or some other related agenda.

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The autopilot has been a point of contention.

The 302s show that Paul Soderlind believed the plane was on autopilot. Statements by Bill Rataczak decades later indicate that he was hand flying the aircraft until they reached Reno.

The FBI believed Soderlind.

My personal feelings on the autopilot are two-fold. One, it could be a combination of manual flying and autopilot. They may have flown a portion of the route on autopilot and other portions manually. Another possibility is that it was a different mode of autopilot. There is a great explanation of that here:

You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login

Secondly, whether the autopilot was engaged or not is really a moot point. We know the plane flew down Victor 23. Whether they hand flew it or whether it was on autopilot, we know the flight path. Usually, the only people who care about the autopilot are those looking to poke holes in the USAF flight path or some other related agenda.

I would add that there were some statements made that if the plane was on auto pilot, that the pilots would not be able to feel hijacker on the air stairs or notice a change in elevation/trim.  So I think that adds a little more to this issue, we all know about the reported oscillations and pressure bump, but I also recall that it was reported by one of the pilots that they noticed a dip or raising of the nose ?  So if that is the case, how could they have felt it if they were on auto pilot would be the question. Not sure if I am mixing some things up that are mutually exclusive, but that is how I am digesting it for the moment.

It also states in the 302s that should the plane be on autopilot, then Soderlind should be able to identify "bobs" on the flight data recorder indicating when the autopilot activated corrections. Later, Soderlind did find a "little bob" at 8:09. Would this "little bob" have occured if the plane was being hand flown? I can't say.

The point is that there is evidence existing both ways, and really why does it matter? The plane went from Seattle to Reno via Victor 23. Does it matter if it was on autopilot or not?