Major concerns for anyone planning single- pilot operations with a jet airplane are first the availability and cost of insurance, and then what limitations are going to be placed on the pilot and the use of the airplane.
The issues the insurance companies have are first that the pilot applicant doesn't have the requisite experience and then that in many cases, someone who can afford to buy a jet and plans to fly it single pilot is used to being in charge and not being told what they can and cannot do. We'd be sticking our heads in the clouds if we didn't acknowledge that there are two types of pilots who want to operate jets single pilot. There are those who have been flying turbine-powered airplanes such as King Airs, TBMs and even jets and want to transition to a single-pilot jet, and then there are those who have no or little experience in even large piston singles like Bonanzas or Malibus, or piston twins, let alone turbine-powered airplanes. Historically, there haven't been that many pilots in the second group, but now with delivery of new very light jets imminent, there is expected to be an increasing number of pilots with the wherewithal to become jet jockeys, but relatively little experience.
There are four basic factors that come into play for someone wanting insurance to fly a jet with one pilot. They are prior experience, training, insurance limits and the cost of premiums.
The fundamental insurance consideration, Tim Bonnell Jr., vice president at Professional Insurance Management (PIM), said, "if you're talking about a transition situation, is prior experience." Before quoting a policy, he explained, the underwriter will take into consideration a pilot's total number of flight hours as well as the applicant's multiengine, turbine and jet time and training.
Stuart Hope, Hope Insurance, agreed, "It's really a matter of the match of the airplane and the pilot. The situation's going to be much different for a Bonanza pilot with 500 total hours, 200 in the Bonanza with an instrument rating, compared to someone who's got 500 hours in a King Air C90 or a Cessna Conquest and now wants to move up to a CJ."
Tom Chappell, CS&A Aviation Insurance, said he gets many calls from buyers who want to move up to aircraft they are too inexperienced to handle. "Many of these candidates," he wrote on his website, "are a real stretch to insure and, in the opinion of many, questionable as to safety. In short, they are skipping steps of much needed experience and over-estimating their skill level. Often the caller confuses ability in the cockpit with ability to afford the aircraft." As an example, Chappell cited the pilot of a Beech Baron 58 who wanted to move up to a single-pilot CitationJet. "You think I'm kidding? After all, he heard that a Citation is a safe aircraft and easy to fly. This type of transition candidate never fails to proclaim his ability in the cockpit and his attention to detail and safety issues. When questioned about taking an interim step, maybe to include experience in pressurized aircraft or possibly turbine aircraft such as a C90 King Air or a TBM 700, the question usually falls on deaf ears."
Despite the pilot's lack of experience, Chappell said there was a slim chance of insuring the risk. "But everything must be done right. There's no hope if the candidate protests and refuses a suggested transition plan." The plan, he said, may include a simulator-based ground and flight school, a type rating, followed by 50, 100 or, in some cases, even 200 hours of dual time with a captain-qualified pilot.
A pilot's previous training and subsequent training are an important consideration in the availability of insurance, the limitations that may be imposed and the cost.
Danny Bullard with USAIG, said the company looks at single-pilot applicants the same way it looks at its insurance business overall. "One risk at a time, one decision at a time. It could be that two applicants have similar qualities, but depending on the proposed use of the aircraft it may not make sense for us to insure them. We rely on the knowledge of each underwriter to assess the risk. But we can say this categorically, no one should be getting into a single- or two-crew turbine aircraft without annual simulator-based training," he insisted.
In many cases, particularly with pilots with minimal experience, the insurance requirements will likely include a period spent flying with a "mentor" pilot. According to PIM's Bonnell, the formula for moving a low-time pilot into the left seat of a single-pilot jet involves six steps. The first is the evaluation of the pilot's prior experience and abilities. If required, the pilot would then be recommended to take some training before beginning the initial approved school training for the type rating. With the type rating secured, the pilot would then fly for a prescribed period with a mentor pilot. Depending on the mentor's evaluation, additional training might be required. And finally, the pilot would be required to attend periodic recurrent simulator training. Stuart Hope said that pilots will be required to go through a full initial type-rating course and fly with a "captain" who's well qualified in the airplane for probably at least 25 hours. "Depending, they could be limited to dual only for the first year or 200 hours. If the pilot is very low time, the 'captain' will reevaluate their capability and if satisfied may turn them loose after they attend a recurrent training course."
