Trust me, I've done plenty of single pilot flying in the EMB 145...it's not that difficult.

X

 

I guess that means that your F.O. was asleep since the 145 is not certified SP. Touchy subject (sleeping) considering what's happening with the NWA crew.

 

The "big stink" is the extra level of safety that a second pilot brings. When all hell breaks loose, there are 2 guys in the cockpit to handle all the tasks required.

I know that all of us consider ourselves to be competent professionals. However, in an emergency situation, it's far better to have on pilot flying the aircraft and the second running the expanded emergency checks.

Single pilot in a Baron, Navajo, etc, etc,etc... is certainly challenging, and perhaps harder on a day to day basis than a single pilot Citation. But the ultimate goal is safety, and nothing helps that goal more than a qualified, competent second pilot.

Also, let me say that I have nothing against occasional, fair weather single pilot ops. I just can't fathom why folks would operate in all conditions single pilot. Why put a multi-million dollar airplane and passengers lives at risk to save a second salary or satisfy that "I can do it all myself" ego?

 

Jack Roush does it all the time in his Premier 1.

The OP has turbine time. He's familiar with the ops. He is going to fly the aircraft two-pilot for many hours before taking the opportunity to demonstrate single-pilot competence. He will know whether he is ready or not when that time comes.

After that, he will have to assess every flight against his own skills and limitations and make the decision. He is methodically moving up to higher performance equipment given the opportunity. That is the name of the game.

Safety is important for sure, and all of us as pilots have to have a keen sense of risk management, but, dang, as Pancho Barnes once put it, "See, some peckerwood's gotta get the thing up. And some peckerwood's gotta land the son of a _____. And that "peckerwood" is called a "pilot".

Go, man. Fly high and safe.

 

No, actually many of them had about 500 hours time and were fresh out of IOE. While many were good, many made it feel that I was flying on my own--more so than the guys who had a bit more time under their belts. It's not the ability, it's the mindset.

X

 

Don't mind me. I was just being a little facetious. I know EXACTLY what you are talking about.

 

I've flown 421's, 414's and currently fly the Ultra. The Ultra is by far the easiest plane I've ever flown. Very stable and a great intro jet for you. Take it slow, learn all you can about performance issues, and have somebody with Ultra experience sit right seat for as many hours as you need and you'll do fine......congrats on the plane, you'll love it.

 

Your hands are more full flying a King Air single-pilot as opposed to a Citation.

 

A second pilot is the cheapest redundancy available and in these times, there are plenty of fliers available. It would be in yours and the owners best interest to have someone available when the wx is lousy and you're headed into challenging environments.

It is not a matter of flying the airplane but of doing the brainwork when things get complex. You can put the Citation on autopilot but when an abnormal evolves it can get demanding.

Quite a while back I instructed in Citations and am back flying one. It is a very forgiving airplane and if you just remember 63% N1 you will be back at Baron performance levels.

The challenge will be the first 100-200 hours getting comfortable with the airplane, the environment you operate it in and what it requires. But the Citation is an easy machine to fly.

 

Something tells me that Topgun is the type of guy who sits on the ground and barks about how many hours are in his logbook and "back in my day we needed XX,XXX hours to get a CFI job...blah blah.." Then in flight he would ask me to ask center what the current altimeter setting is as we cruise at FL230.