JetZero Designs Z4 Pilot Training in Step With the Aircraft and Plans Its Own Simulators

Halldale interviewed Bethany Davis, head of Z4 programme and certification at JetZero, about preparing pilots for the company's blended-wing Z4, which is expected to enter service in the early 2030s. The aircraft targets the middle market with about 250 passengers and a 5,000 nautical mile range. Pilots would transition via a new type rating, and Davis stresses that the company is changing the airframe, not certification or training methods. The Z4 keeps a conventional two-pilot flight deck with an active control sidestick already certified on Gulfstream aircraft, letting each pilot see the other's inputs. Training is being developed alongside the aircraft: a Flying Qualities Lab uses real hardware, control laws and the aerodynamic model, and a second fixed-base simulator focuses on avionics integration, though neither is FAA-approved as a full-flight simulator. Airline test, line, standards and training pilots have been invited to the Long Beach simulator for feedback. JetZero plans an RFI and then an RFP to pick a first training provider and at least two full-flight simulators at Long Beach, with facility planning done there and at Greensboro. Aiming for 20 aircraft a month within five years, Davis estimates demand for roughly two to two-and-a-half extra simulators a year on a rule of thumb of one per 100 aircraft. The aerodynamic model will not be fully validated until first flight. Training materials and manuals will be digitally native, with no AI in certified avionics.