I'm writing a book and looking for an airplane that can handle that distance (2160nm), was available back in the late 90s, and can be operated by a single pilot.
Thanks!
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$\begingroup$ What is possible with GA airplanes is also certainly possible with private jets. A simple modification is all it takes. $\endgroup$– Peter KämpfApr 1, 2021 at 15:04
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$\begingroup$ @CGCampbell The Cessna Citation X has a minimum flight crew of two pilots. $\endgroup$– root66Apr 1, 2021 at 17:25
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1$\begingroup$ Cessna Conquest II. $\endgroup$– acpilotApr 1, 2021 at 20:25
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$\begingroup$ Mitsubishi MU2. $\endgroup$– acpilotApr 2, 2021 at 1:17
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$\begingroup$ @acpilot The Cessna Conquest II looks good, thanks! The MU2 has half of the range, or is there a long range version? $\endgroup$– root66Apr 3, 2021 at 19:16
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Smaller planes that had this range back in the 90's were not so rare, but they were jets, most of them were not intended to be operated, at least commercially by a single crewmember. It would have been totally possible though.
When considering that you are writing a book, you may take some liberties (in addition to the crew count) when it comes to range: the official figures take into account the fuel reserve regulations, so after the declared range is flown, the plane would most likely be able to continue flight for about an hour before fuel starvation.
So, at least these had the range of 2160nm minimum (some not fully loaded):
- Learjet 60
- IAI Westwind
- Dassault Falcon 20 (some variants)
- Hawker 800
(To keep things simple, I'll turn this into community wiki right away)
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$\begingroup$ It is intended as a private flight with passengers. How can you determine if a jet is certified for single-pilot use? $\endgroup$– root66Apr 1, 2021 at 16:41
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1$\begingroup$ @root66 You can find that in the TCDS (Type Certificate Data Sheet). If you Google for TCDS and the aircraft type, they should be easy to find. E.g. for the Learjet 60, the EASA TCDS says: "Minimum Flight Crew: For all flights, 2 persons (pilot and copilot)", so it is not single pilot certified. $\endgroup$ Apr 1, 2021 at 16:55
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$\begingroup$ @bianfable Thanks! The complete Hawker series also has 2 pilots minimum. I haven't found the other two TCDS's yet. Now, I could investigate further, or portray the pilot as careless for flying without a co-pilot. $\endgroup$– root66Apr 1, 2021 at 17:32
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1$\begingroup$ Your requirements are tough, the careless pilot scenario seems the easiest way to go :) There is, of course the possibility of the plane being fitted with ferry tanks, unless absolute realism is of importance. $\endgroup$– Jpe61Apr 1, 2021 at 18:47
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1$\begingroup$ @jpe61 I saw someone fly from Los Angeles to Hawaii on a Cessna 172, but the machine was totally overloaded and full of extra tanks. I have three more passengers to fly with the pilot. $\endgroup$– root66Apr 3, 2021 at 19:18