Kingfish writes:

MX, how the f**k can you possibly know a 747 can be flown single
pilot??

By studying the systems aboard. Most jet airliners with two-man crews can be
flown by a single pilot, it's just a lot more difficult.

And don't say "because I do it all the time on sims"...

Why not?

The gear handle is on the F/O's side, and the left seater would need
orangutan arms to reach it I think.

Not at all. When the FO is the pilot flying, the captain lowers the gear, and
he can reach over and do it with no trouble. I've seen him do it. I've sat
in the cockpit myself. It's pretty small and both pilots can reach just about
everything that they need to reach (by design, no doubt).

The 747-400 requires 2 pilots for a reason ...

For redundancy, and because it's a complex aircraft that is a lot easier and
safer to fly when two people are handling it. But it _can_ be flown by one
person, even if that's not a very good idea.

... As far as using autoland a sim pilot (or GA pilot for that matter)
would have no idea how to load and arm the approach.

I do it several times a day. It's not rocket science.

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