Visual Aids for The Air Show’s JetZero Z4 Discussion

This week on The Air Show, we are talking about JetZero and its proposed aircraft. With the episode just going live — if you don’t see it, keep refreshing — I’m putting up a bonus Thursday post with some visual aids that will help you understand what we’re talking about. You really have to see it, I think.

The airplane itself is a blended-wing aircraft, or as they like to call it, an “all-wing” airplane. The Z4 is the eventual commercial model and it’s currently expected to look like this:

^{Image via JetZero}

As you can see, it’s not exactly “all wing” but the body acts as a wing and generates lift which means those little tiny wing protusions on each side can be much smaller than if they had to do all the lifting for the airplane.

What’s most interesting ,however, is what it’ll look like on the inside. Jon Ostrower and I were both at the manufacturer’s media day event — ok, I was only at the first part of it — and that’s where they showed off their full-scale mock-up which sits in their hangar/headquarters in Long Beach.

^{Photo via Jon Ostrower}

The front part of the airplane is narrower and can have more traditional seating options with windows. This is likely to be more premium. You can see that here where the windows would be on the left looking out but also forward thanks to the tapering of the fuselage toward the cockpit.

^{Photo via Jon Ostrower}

But the back part is a unique four-aisle, four-cabin arrangement. Here you can see on the right the walkway where, if you turn right, will go into each cabin area:

^{Photo via Jon Ostrower}

Effectively, in the body of the airplane you have four unique cabins across in between the structural elements. For passengers, that means it feels like any other airplane. Here, for example, is a look at what a staggered business class could look like in a 1-1 configuration in one of the four cabins across:

^{Photo via Jon Ostrower}

Keep in mind that this is not meant to look perfect. This is a mock-up. The design details will be much better, but you can see here how you just feel like you’re in a private cabin on a traditional “tube-and-wing” airliner.

Here’s a look at a domestic First Class/international premium economy-style setup.

^{Photo via Jon Ostrower}

In coach — which you can see behind the premium economy setup above — it can fit a 2-3 configuration similiar to an A220 or MD-80, just with higher ceilings and straight walls since it doesn’t have to take on the curvature of a normal tube. That will create the feeling of much more room.

You might think that bringing the forward and aft cabins together on the airplane would make for some challenging real estate, but that is where JetZero proposes putting the galley in a triangular setup. This looks toward the back with the separate cabins partially-viewable behind. This brings all the cabins together by using the space for something that’s needed anyway but can be put in a less traditional shape.

^{Photo via Jon Ostrower}

Want to hear more about this? Why do I not hate the fact that there won’t be windows in the back cabin? Will this actually fly? Why am I far less skeptical about this than other new designs out there? You’ll just have to listen in to this week’s episode of The Air Show.

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