Looks like the consoles were designed without much thought about human factors. In the "locally" piloted aircraft, if it looks like a flap lever it had better be a flap lever or the feds will never buy it.
Several large cargo operators have been quietly exploring the possibilty of remotely piloted ships and planes for years now. Remember when all the ALPA contracts had sunset provisions for the flight engineer? Maybe something similar can be worked out for the pilots in the years to come.
