There are a few interesting points in this discussion.
First of all, in my opinion, the manual vs autoloader reload mechanic is clearly unfair and shouldn’t work this way in a competitive PvP game. At the same time, I understand that the crew XP system is part of Gaijin’s monetization model for a free-to-play game.
There are two possible ways to make this system fairer.
The first option would be to remove the effect of Expert/Ace crews from manually loaded vehicles, as the OP suggested. However, this would directly affect one of Gaijin’s revenue streams. There are players who only use aced crews - and no, they don’t grind them. They buy them and enjoy the advantage they provide. Faster reload rates are a major part of that advantage. The chance that Gaijin would remove or significantly change this system is extremely low. I understand that Expert/Ace crews provide more benefits than just reload speed, but let’s be honest: reload speed is one of the main reasons people invest in them.
The second option would be to allow crew skills to affect autoloaded vehicles as well. Before anyone argues that this would be unrealistic because autoloaders are machines: War Thunder is a game, and many parts of the modification and crew skill systems are already completely unrealistic. In reality, no one would put you in a vehicle and tell you that you’ll get better ammunition or a second fire extinguisher after killing 50 enemies. Likewise, a new crew member’s eyes wouldn’t suddenly fail to spot an enemy tank simply because it’s “too far” for their current experience level. Vitality is another skill that makes little sense from a realism perspective - an experienced crew member doesn’t magically survive multiple bullets to the chest just because he has more experience.
This system clearly isn’t designed for realism. It exists to generate revenue. Crew skills affecting autoloaders wouldn’t cost Gaijin any money - if anything, it could even benefit them - and it would at least make the game more balanced. That said, I’m fully aware that many players would strongly oppose this solution, so my prediction is that nothing will change.
Another interesting topic is the cost of an Ace crew. In my opinion, this is something that really should be adjusted. For example, to spade every ground vehicle in the American tech tree, you currently need 8,318,370 RP in total. However, to Ace the crew on all of them, you need 54,534,000 RP. On average, that means each vehicle has to be effectively “spaded” 6.6 times just to earn an Ace crew. That’s far too much. In my opinion, it should be closer to 1.5 times at most.
Personally, my playstyle is to spade a vehicle and then move on to the next one. Sometimes I return to vehicles I enjoyed to complete a harder challenge or task, but in general I don’t play thousands of battles in a single vehicle. Apart from Naval, I’ve never managed to earn a free Ace crew on any vehicle above rank II. And I only have two aced crews on rank III naval vessels. Earning an Ace crew for free simply requires too much effort. Spading a vehicle already takes a long time, and needing to do the equivalent of 6.6 spades just to Ace a crew is excessive.
This requirement is unlikely to be reduced, because it’s another monetization system. It’s not a coincidence that the numbers are set so high. Gaijin knows that the average player won’t earn an Ace crew through normal gameplay. To do so, you need to focus on a single vehicle and play hundreds, if not thousands, of battles. That slows overall tech tree progression significantly. Buying an Ace crew with GE essentially saves time.
I hope I’m wrong, but honestly, I don’t expect any changes in this area.