What does it take to fly Airlander—and how can you become an Airlander pilot?

27.06.2025

Over the past year, we’ve been bringing a wide range of pilots into our Airlander simulator to experience flying Airlander firsthand. This work is a crucial part of how we develop the aircraft’s flight controls, procedures, and capabilities.

By inviting pilots with different backgrounds and flying experience into the simulator, we’ve been able to gather valuable insights, not only into how Airlander performs, but also how pilots adapt to it. These sessions are helping to shape the future of Airlander’s design and how we train the pilots who will one day fly it in service.

Simulating flight on Airlander

The heart of any simulator and its realism is the mathematical model of the aircraft that is programmed into the simulator. Unlike conventional aeroplanes and helicopters, where such models are widely available, Airlander’s innovative hybrid design required us to develop this from scratch. HAV’s team is full of experienced and competent engineers, and since 2014, the HAV Flight Sciences engineers have created and refined models that reproduce the behaviour of the full-size Airlander. As the only company to have flown a full-size hybrid aircraft prototype, we are the only holder of real-world flight test data for hybrid aircraft. Originally modelled on the prototype, the simulator is now modelled on the production design, which is validated against wind tunnel results, Computational Fluid Dynamics results and the experience of our Chief Test Pilot.

Who’s been flying the Airlander simulator?

To truly understand how pilots interact with Airlander, we have invited a diverse group to take the controls. The pilots have ranged from experienced airship pilots, trained test pilots, military pilots, skilled commercial airline pilots, and even some less experienced aviators used to flying small aircraft.

Each pilot completed four 45-minute-long flights. During these sessions, they flew Airlander under different conditions, including varying levels of what we call “heaviness” — essentially the weight the aircraft carries after helium lift is taken into account.

What we’ve learned so far

The majority adapted quickly to flying Airlander, showing that the transition is smooth for most.

Interestingly, there’s no obvious predictor of who will take to Airlander fastest — factors like age, flying experience, or background don’t reliably indicate how easily a pilot will adapt. The only way to know for sure is to see them fly the simulator, a truth well known to any flight instructor.

While most pilots have been from fixed-wing backgrounds, we have also included helicopter pilots who were able to provide helpful feedback on take-off and landing into smaller operating sites. Most pilots adapted well, reflecting how Airlander combines aspects of aeroplanes and helicopters, alongside some unique flying characteristics.

Overall, these sessions confirm that flying Airlander is different from other aircraft, but not more difficult. A promising sign for pilot training and operational readiness.

Want to be an Airlander pilot?

Our simulator testing so far supports our belief that commercial pilots can successfully transition to flying Airlander. Looking ahead, we are continuing to expand this work with many of the same pilots, as well as new ones, introducing more challenging conditions to the simulator sessions.

With additional simulators already underway, including one built to the Airlander production flight deck design, our focus will turn to training our own test and evaluation pilots before progressing to prepare the first pilots for our customer airlines.

To become an Airlander pilot, candidates will first need to hold a Commercial Pilot Licence for aeroplanes or helicopters and gain relevant flying experience. From there, they can pursue an Airlander Type Rating as part of their qualification process. During these sessions the pilots often spoke about how easy the aircraft was to fly and how it was a familiar experience.

So, do you think you have what it takes to fly Airlander?