Não, não é o piloto original. Não filmou antes da primeira temporada. É um episódio de flashback cuja história se passa antes do S1E1.
The title is a wordplay on the term "pilot" used to refer to the first episode in a television series. Since this whole episode is a flashback to events preceding the series pilot, it was coined as "Co-Pilot".(source)
One of the reasons for this flashback show in the middle of the season was to allow the make-up team time to figure out to depict Ronnie's facial disfigurement, following an act of violence that had occurred to him in episode 2x7 "Barnstormers". (source)