Definition
An aircraft certification and equipment arrangement that permits the aircraft to be legally and safely operated by one pilot, with controls, instruments, and required systems positioned so a single pilot can manage all flight, navigation, and communication tasks from one seat.
Plain English
The aircraft is set up to be flown by one pilot alone, with everything that pilot needs within reach and within their workload to handle.
Context Anchor
Seen in instrument flying discussions when the FAA material refers to crew requirements, cockpit equipment, or whether one pilot can legally and safely manage the operation alone.
Why Pilots Care
Affects whether certain approaches or procedures are authorized and how autopilot must be managed.
Intuition Check
Do not read this as simply “only one pilot happens to be in the airplane.” In this context, it means the aircraft and equipment are approved and arranged so one pilot may be the only required pilot.
Example Sentence 1
The Citation is approved for single-pilot configuration provided the autopilot is operational before departure.
Example Sentence 2
Only aircraft certified for single-pilot configuration may conduct this procedure without a copilot.