Over the last seventy years, the minimum crew complement for air carrier operation has fallen from five in the 1950s to two today. However, in order to reduce the costs of airlines and the safety risks caused by different perceptions and inconsistent operations of two pilots, Single Pilot Operation (SPO) is the key technology for the next generation operation. SPO mode is the collaborative implementation among single pilot, cockpit intelligent automation, and ground airlines’ operator. In this paper, we describe the system architecture for single pilot operation and its components. The differences between the current operation mode and the single pilot operation in the collaboration among pilot, air traffic management system and airlines, are also introduced. According to the main flight process of commercial aircraft, the organization architecture for each flight process under SPO is presented. The established remote control demonstration and validation system are evaluated by pilots operating, and one dispatcher. The results show our remote control system based on SPO can get the base operating feeling as onboard operating, more conveniently in flight re-planning and emergency situation operation. The above research would be the foundation for the SPO development of commercial aircraft in China.
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