The past few years have evidenced a remarkable increase in the use of helicopters in agriculture. There are any number of individual reasons for this: helicopters are more plentiful, for example, but the primary reason is one of simple economics combined with a capability to meet new demands. The demands have been generated by the overwhelming population explosion. Sometimes hard to imagine and even more difficult to cope with, but the facts remain that:

1. 1. 25 % of all the people that ever existed on earth are living on it today,

2. 2. The world population increases at a rate of 5400 people every hour; and

3. 3. This staggering number of people will double again within the next 40 years.