Hello @Chris-SMS
Indeed, Shift+C is the default way to enter/exit the aircraft when you don’t have an interactable door. Does it solve the problem for you?
Regarding the pilot avatar being spawned when the aircraft already has its own pilot model, this is already tracked here:
Default pilot figure appearing even if not configured in MSFS2020 aircraft.cfg file - [MSFS 2024] Bug Reports / Aircraft - MSFS DevSupport
Regards,
Sylvain