Before assessing future developments of agricultural aircraft, it is interesting to study the trends of the industry over the past five years.

In England, after a promising start, which it is now apparent was occasioned by a heavier-than-normal attack of pest and disease, it soon became evident that large scale operations could not be undertaken profitably due to low fleet utilisation and numerous operational problems which arose from the use of existing fixed-wing aircraft. The major operational problems which hampered large scale operations were shortage of acceptable landing strips, small fields and a high incidence of obstacles.