Single pilot Ops

Surfneric

Well-Known Member
So I'm looking for additional ideas from people on how to convince a group of several companies that single pilot ops is a safe and effective option. They are wanting a Beech Baron.

My reasoning for this argument: I currently fly for a 135 operation that is entirely single pilot ops. I really enjoy it. It's not that I dislike having a copilot so much, but I would much rather be flying on my own. I really enjoy doing things how and when I want to do them, instead of having to occasionally ask the copilot to "please ask atc for a decent now..." If anything, having a copilot is sometimes more distracting and or frustrating to me. It also doesn't help that I think I'm a partial introvert.

Does any one have any ideas for convinsing arguments for single pilot ops? I want to talk to them about recurrent training programs, as well as introducing them to all the single pilot CRM ideas that are out there. I know for myself that it's a safe option if you are a good planner and know your limits, but I want THEM to know it too.

Any ideas are much appreciated!
 
Any FO you hire for a Barron is likely to be less than a paperweight and actually cause more distractions than add anything to the cockpit. That would simply be a virtue of who in their right mind would take a baron FO job and it's not going to pay enough to attract anyone with experience and good crm skills.
Also, you can use the right seat as a pax seat, maybe argue it from a W&B standpoint as well.
Then there's the SRM - Single Pilot Resource management. Lots of stuff on that in the past couple years.
 
People that don't fly don't understand that all planes are not the same. They think a Baron is as difficult to fly as a Global Express. The cockpit is not designed for operating as a crew.

Explain to them that the Baron is certified under regulations that don't guarantee climb performance on a single engine. The weight of a "copilot" could make the difference between clearing the trees and not.
 
One less salary
One less hotel
One less meal
No interruption in ops if one pilot is unavailable

That being said, the allure of single pilot wears off pretty quickly. 2+ years flying a CJ3 single pilot and i'm ready to add a co-pilot. Transcons alone are boring!
 
That being said, the allure of single pilot wears off pretty quickly. 2+ years flying a CJ3 single pilot and i'm ready to add a co-pilot. Transcons alone are boring!

Seeing as how I hate people, I strongly disagree. @mikecweb and @auw2fly were total pains in the assess to be stuck in a cockpit with, much less to eat meals with for 4 days on the road.
 
Point in case. About to take off for snowy Ithaca. This will be my 5th de-ice of the year and it's not even Christmas. The experience has been great, no doubt has it made me SUCH a better pilot, but I don't want this forever. Time to go ghost busters.
 
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