I'm sure most pilots have a stereotype of the jet owner-pilot in mind: lots of money, not much flying experience and an unprofessional attitude toward flying. Other than the obvious need for money, I have never encountered a business jet owner-pilot who met that description. In fact, David is an extreme example of how wrong that image usually is.
David is actually a military-trained pilot who flew F-102 Delta Daggers, a demanding single-seat jet fighter. Hardly the aviation dilettante many pilots expect. He is one of the most organized and methodical pilots I have ever flown with, down to the point of crafting a Velcro strap to hold the checklist on his knee. Those fighter jock habits stick with you.
Before the CJ1, David owned a Cessna 414 piston twin. A CJ2 is next later this year. And David and his brother are nearing completion of a Glasair homebuilt. He is actually the typical CJ owner pilot who is as serious about, and involved in, aviation as any pilot can be.
The CJ1 is equipped with the big Collins Pro Line 21 flat-panel displays that eliminate all standard instruments from the cockpit except for the battery-powered standby gyro and backup altimeter and airspeed indicator. This entry-level business jet actually has one of the most advanced cockpits, and the FlightSafety instructors teach it in an advanced way.
For example, our sim instructor, Walter Rowhuff, encouraged us to use the Universal flight management system (FMS) for everything. Fly an NDB approach. It was on the list, but the FMS, not the ADF receiver, provided all of the guidance. Enter a holding pattern. Of course, but the Universal knew how to do that too.
But it wasn't all autopilot and FMS. Both David and I flew ILS approaches in minimums conditions with the primary displays failed, leaving only the battery-powered backup instruments. Engines failed repeatedly, most often just after rotation into a ceiling of 100 feet. The primary brakes failed on taxi and once on touchdown; the flaps failed to come down several times; and the autopilot would drop off at the most inconvenient times. It was a challenge, but that is what we were there for.
Perhaps the hardest work was flying the steep turns. The new Collins displays have greatly expanded scales for altitude and airspeed. The ATP target tolerances for the steep turns are to hold altitude within 100 feet and airspeed within the 10 knots all the way around the turn. But the expanded scales show each knot of airspeed variance or five feet of altitude change. If you used all of the allowable tolerance it looked like you were wandering all over the sky. So, I give the Pro Line 21 an A-plus for being easier to fly than conventional EFIS or instruments, except for the steep turns when you have to crank up all of your concentration to stay on the numbers. And any pilot you would want to fly with is competitive enough to tackle that challenge.
