Method of operation yeilding extended range for single pilot aircraft and systems useful in conjunction therewith

A computer program product, comprising a non-transitory tangible computer readable medium storing computer readable program code, said computer readable program code, when executed by a computer system, causes the computer system to implement an aviation method, said aviation method comprising the following operations:

• while performing a single-pilot flight of inter-continental duration (T), wherein the inter-continental duration (T) is greater than a predetermined single-pilot maximal single pilot flight duration (tp):
• piloting an aircraft, in a first pilot-in-command mode and only for a time period (W), based on inputs received, via an airborne man-machine interface (MMI), from a single human airborne pilot aboard the aircraft, wherein the time period (W) is less than the predetermined single-pilot maximal single pilot flight duration (tp), and the time period (W) includes at least an initial climbing phase of a first duration (t1) and a final descent phase of a second duration (t3);
• and
• piloting the aircraft, in a second pilot-in-command mode, during an intermediate cruising phase, occurring between the initial climbing phase and the final descent phase, without recourse to the single human airborne pilot except during an emergency, wherein piloting the aircraft during the intermediate cruising phase without recourse to the single human airborne pilot accomplishes the single-pilot flight of the inter-continental duration (T) with recourse to the single human airborne pilot only for the time period (W) less than the predetermined single-pilot maximal single pilot flight duration (tp),
• the aviation method further comprising determining, using an on-board processor of the computer system, whether the aircraft, at each point in time during the single-pilot flight, is being controlled by the airborne man-machine interface (MMI), by a human pilot on the ground via a ground-MMI, or by an airborne aircraft-management computer.

An aviation method comprising:

• performing a single-pilot flight of inter-continental duration (T), wherein the inter-continental duration (T) is greater than a predetermined single-pilot maximal single pilot flight duration (tp), said performing including:
• piloting an aircraft, in a first pilot-in-command mode of a processor and only for a time period (W), based on inputs received, via an airborne man-machine interface (MMI), from a single human airborne pilot aboard the aircraft, wherein the time period (W) is less than the predetermined single-pilot maximal single pilot flight duration (tp), and the time period (W) includes at least an initial climbing phase of a first duration (t1) and a final descent phase of a second duration (t3);
• and
• piloting the aircraft, in a second pilot-in-command mode of a processor, during an intermediate cruising phase, occurring between the initial climbing phase and the final descent phase, without recourse to the single human airborne pilot except during an emergency, wherein piloting the aircraft during the intermediate cruising phase without recourse to the single human airborne pilot accomplishes the single-pilot flight of the inter-continental duration (T) while utilizing the single human airborne pilot only for the time period (W) less than the predetermined single-pilot maximal single pilot flight duration (tp),
• the aviation method further comprising determining, by a processor on-board the aircraft, whether the aircraft, at each point in time during the single-pilot flight, is being controlled by the airborne man-machine interface (MMI), a human pilot on the ground via a ground MMI, or an airborne aircraft-management computer,
• wherein a Federal Aviation Regulations FAR-23 aircraft, having a single-seat cockpit, is used for said single-pilot flight, thereby to enable reduced fuel consumption by enabling at least one of:
• reduced weight, reduced length, and reduced width of the aircraft.