REPLACEMENT
 

The BAe146 WILL be REPLACED BEFORE ANY FLETCHER OR CRESCO is replaced.

Long live the FLETCHER::ok:

Stop hitting the key board so hard FU24, we hear you.

No computer will ever replace a Fletcher - because no one is dumb enough to make one that looks like a wheelbarrow:E

As long as you/we are cheaper, we will keep a seat.

BTW, RPV's already in use in Ag - in Japan of all places...:yuk:

Going of on tangents folks. The question is not whether there will be someone up front, for the foreseeable future there will be. The point is what will be his / her role, to what extent will traditional piloting skills be required, to what extent will the job become that of a systems manager and what will it be worth?

Oh, is that what the question is...

Simple. Pilots will become, more and more, systems managers. Their traditional piloting skills will become eroded, but they will still be required to demonstrate the same skill level (more or less) as they do now- for the same reason that the CAA seem to like examining for equipment and techniques long since retired.

Despite attempts to cut salaries by cost-conscious airlines, they will remain relatively high- the main reason being that the pilots are still responsible for the lives of their pax. A secondary reason will be the ease with which a poor pilot can close down a company by crashing.

Interesting to note that, in the main, the low-cost operators actually seem to pay very well. They also seem to have high training standards, according to those I know who fly for them.

Bottom line- who would do the job, along with all the crap that goes with it, for a low salary?

Who would want the job if all they got to do was manage a computer?

Glad we got that sorted out.

And, for FU24, I seem to recall, not so many years ago, vast numbers of ag aircraft being laid up indefinitely in NZ. This at a time when the 146 was in full production... at lest you can use the Pawnees and Agwagons for towing gliders.

Have to say, though, that its a great utility aircraft- hope I get the chance to fly one one day, although I suspect the days of ag aviation are numbered...