Title: Single Pilot Jets | Flying
Headings: Single Pilot Jets
Single Pilot Jets
Content: One of the many certification rule changes between small and large aircraft is a requirement for at least two pilots in the large transport category airplane. It's easy to understand why two pilots would be required in a transport airplane, given the greater complexity and generally higher performance. By their very nature transport airplanes are designed to carry larger numbers of people, or a greater amount of cargo, so there is a greater risk to a larger group, and certification theory has always demanded a higher standard as risk increases. Society, through the FAA, grants us wide latitude to take chances with our own lives, or with those of a few friends or family members, but that all changes when passenger capacity increases. Nobody wants to operate really large airplanes - including larger business jets - with a single pilot, but light business jets are a different issue. For many people a single pilot in a light business jet is enough. It is understandable why some owners would want to fly their business jets without a copilot. The convenience of taking off when you want, staying as long as you want, and all other aspects of operating your own airplane are at least a little more complicated when you need two pilots. Single-pilot operation is all about flexibility and convenience. There is some cost to be saved by not hiring a copilot, but that's not a big issue.