Common/popular single-pilot turbine business aircraft:
- Cessna Citation (501/551, 510 Mustang, 525/525A/525B/525C CJ series and 500/550/560 with a Single Pilot Waiver)
- King Air 90-350
- Beech Premier
- Eclipse 500
- Phenom 100 & 300
- TBM 700/850
- Pilatus PC12
I'm typed and insured for SP ops in our CJ2+ but we typically operate with a crew. That said, I've done SP flights before - both with me the only person upfront and "legally" with a professional, ATP-rated pilot in the right seat who in the eyes of the FAA is simply a passenger. Flying the CJ2+ is about as difficult as flying our Cirrus SR22 - its not difficult at all, at least
when everything is going right.
I'd say that SP ops aren't necessarily less safe than crew ops...they're riskier. What I mean by that is in most turbine aircraft there isn't a single point of mechanical failure that could cause the loss of the aircraft...except the pilot, in the case of SP operations. Combine that with the relatively low cost of a copilot on these light/very light jets ($300-400USD/day or $35-45k/year) and it only makes sense IMO for a professionally flown airplane doing Part 91 industrial-aid type flying to be crewed because of the mitigation of risk. There's also a good argument for a second pilot to be a captain vs. a copilot, so that the first PIC can take sick time, vacation, etc. without grounding the airplane for a period of time.
For Part 91 owner-operators...they can do as they please.