They must show a mastery of the airplane and of their task management ability. Throughout this type rating training, the pilot will need to prove that they can handle the plane and workload. An owner/pilot can then get a type rating that includes single-pilot operation priveledges. In that case, the operator can have the choice of flying single pilot. Suppose an airplane falls below the 12,500-pound limit, and the manufacturer proves to the FAA during certification that it can be operated safely with only one pilot. There have been a few obstacles along the way, but the FAA modified the rules in the mid-1980s to allow pilots to get a single-pilot type rating. Over the years as aircraft have grown fancier and heavier, manufacturers have bumped against the 12,500-pound transport category certification rule. So, many planes need to have two pilots to fly legally, regardless of who owns them or how they are being operated. One of the certification requirements for these aircraft is that they must have two pilots. Most corporate jets exceed this limit by a bit and are therefore certified as transport category airplanes. For the purposes of type certification, a large aircraft is one that weighs more than 12,500 pounds. Nearly all private jets are classified as “large aircraft” by the FAA when they are built. The difference exists because the FAA realizes that turbine-powered aircraft are more complex than piston-powered ones. Jet-powered aircraft require the pilot to hold a type rating–they need to go to school for the precise make and model of aircraft that they will be flying. The FAA has always treated jet aircraft a little bit differently than piston planes. As things happen faster, the benefit of having another qualified pilot share tasks dramatically increases. A fast plane leaves pilots with less time to prepare for a flight’s critical phases like departures and instrument approaches. The importance of being able to divide the workload increases with the speed of an aircraft. The skills involved in sharing the flying workload are known in the pilot community as CRM, or crew resource management.
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