I'm sure Maxibon's feelings are shared by most. But the point is the operational importance of the job. More than fifty years ago (Hansard,10 March,1958) the Secretary of State for Air, talking of a shortage of Navigators, declared in Parliament: "This is worrying, because of the important part which the navigator plays in the modern bomber crew. In some ways he has a more difficult job than the pilot himself. We have been trying to emphasise his equal footing with the pilot and are making some navigators captains of aircraft."
There has been a real revolution in Air Navigation since then, and the navigator has disappeared from the cockpit of civil aircraft.
But in military aviation he has a presence and his task has also undergone a revolutionary change. That is why a serious review is needed - in the right forum.