LETTERS

摘要

Clive Roberts's piece on retirement (Goodbye to all that, winter 2014) gave a clear insight into our profession at a critical time. When the first upheavals of retirement pass, professional pilots are able to look back at the job with an objectivity that was difficult to achieve when they were wrapped up in the minutiae of day-to-day operations. We haven't handled the introduction of technology well from the point of view of the requirements of the human pilot. In the future, fully automated, autonomous and pilotless aircraft may operate on some routes, but that will still leave the bulk of commercial air transport in need of pilots with the flying skills that Roberts mourns.