You're hovering over the Vinewood sign. The sun is setting. You’ve got a buddy standing on the tarmac at Los Santos International, begging for a lift to the top of Mount Chiliad. You look at your Mammoth Hydra, that beautiful piece of vertical takeoff machinery, and you wonder: can I actually bring them along? It’s a classic question that has haunted GTA Online players since the Heists Update dropped back in 2015.
Honestly, the answer is a bit of a letdown for anyone hoping to run a two-man air force. The Hydra jet is not a 2 seater. It is a single-seat fighter jet. If you try to let your friend in, they’ll just stand there awkwardly while you climb into the cockpit alone.
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The Hydra Jet Seating Capacity Explained
Let’s get the hard facts out of the way first. The Hydra, manufactured by Mammoth in the Grand Theft Auto universe, is strictly a solo affair. It’s designed for one pilot to handle everything from the VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) transitions to the explosive cannons. There is no second seat tucked behind the pilot, and there’s definitely no "co-pilot" seat like you’d find in a Tula or an Avenger.
Why do people get confused? Mostly because the jet is massive. It looks like it should have enough room for a small party, or at least a navigator. But in the world of Rockstar Games, the Hydra is a lone wolf's tool. If you want to transport a friend in a jet, you’re looking at the wrong bird.
Why the 2 seater rumors won't die
There’s a reason this question keeps popping up on Reddit and Discord. Back when the Flight School DLC was being teased, there was a ton of speculation about multi-seat fighter jets. Players saw the size of the Hydra and assumed it would follow the lead of real-world trainers or two-seat variants of the Harrier (its real-life inspiration).
Plus, early "leaks" and clickbait YouTube videos from the mid-2010s spent a lot of time claiming a "2-seat Hydra" was coming in a future patch. It never did.
Comparing the Hydra to Other GTA Jets
If you’re absolutely dead-set on flying with a wingman in the same cockpit, you have to look elsewhere. The Hydra is great for solo grinding and quick escapes, but it’s a lonely ride.
- The Buckingham Miljet: This thing is a beast. It seats 16 people. It’s basically a flying bus with jet engines. But it’s not a fighter. You aren't going to win any dogfights in a Miljet.
- The Buckingham Vestra: A small, nimble corporate jet. It seats two. Again, zero weapons. It’s for flying to your penthouse, not for taking out a griefing Oppressor.
- The Buckingham Pyro: This is the one you actually want. The Pyro is a 2 seater jet that is arguably one of the fastest and most agile planes in the entire game. If you have a friend who wants to ride shotgun while you weave through skyscrapers, the Pyro is your best bet.
- The Mammoth Tula: It’s a weird, amphibious VTOL plane. It seats five. It has a turret for the passenger. It’s slower than a Hydra, but way more social.
Real-Life Inspiration: The Harrier Jump Jet
The Hydra is almost a carbon copy of the real-world Harrier II (AV-8B) and the British Aerospace Sea Harrier. In the real world, these planes are famously single-seaters. They were built for the Marines and the Royal Navy to operate from short runways or small ships.
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However, there are two-seat versions of the Harrier, known as the T10 or T12. These are used for training new pilots. They have a stretched-out cockpit to fit an instructor behind the student. Rockstar just chose to stick with the standard combat version, which focuses on a single pilot managing the vectored thrust.
How to "Fake" a Multi-Person Hydra Flight
So, you’ve got the Hydra, and you’ve got a friend. You still want to fly together. What do you do?
You can't sit inside, but you can get creative. Some players have mastered the art of "surfing" on the wings of the Hydra while it’s in VTOL mode. It’s incredibly glitchy and will probably end with your friend falling to their death once you switch to forward flight mode, but it’s a fun way to mess around in a private lobby.
Basically, if you want to move a group, call in a Luxor Deluxe or an Avenger. If you want to kill everything on the map by yourself, stick with the Hydra.
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Summary of the Hydra’s Limitations
Buying a Hydra is a $3,990,000 investment (unless you have the trade price from the EMP setup in the Humane Labs Raid). Before you drop that kind of cash, you need to know what you’re getting.
- One Seat Only: No passengers. Ever.
- VTOL Dominance: It can hover like a helicopter, which makes it easier to land in narrow streets than a P-996 Lazer.
- Old School Weapons: It has the famous explosive cannons, but they were nerfed a while back. They aren't the "instakill" beams they used to be, but they still shred unarmored targets.
- Pegasus vs. Hangar: You can call it from Pegasus, but if you want to change the paint job, you’ve got to fly it into your personal hangar.
Actionable Steps for Aspiring Pilots
If you came here hoping for a co-op jet experience, don't just give up. Here is what you should do next:
- Check out the Pyro: If the "2 seater" part is your priority, save your GTA$ for the Pyro. It outperforms the Hydra in dogfights anyway.
- Practice the VTOL Switch: If you already bought the Hydra, learn to switch from hover to jet mode instantly. It's the only way to lose a homing missile without flares.
- Buy a Hangar: Don't leave your Hydra in the "Pegasus Gray" default. Get a hangar in Fort Zancudo so you can give it a custom chrome or matte black finish and get low-level clearance to the base.
The Hydra remains one of the most iconic vehicles in GTA history, even if it won't let you bring a date along for the ride. It’s a precision tool for a solo pilot, designed for the "go-at-it-alone" mentality of a Los Santos kingpin.