Beyond Aero’s Hydrogen-Electric Aircraft Program Heads to Wind Tunnel

Testing represents one of the final stages in the company’s preliminary design phase, which it expects to complete soon.

Jack Daleo

Monday, January 19, 2026 at 12:02 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

A one-eighth scale model of Beyond Aero’s hydrogen-electric BYA-1 concept completes wind tunnel testing in the Netherlands. [Credit: Beyond Aero]

Key Takeaways:

Beyond Aero, a French company developing the BYA-1 hydrogen-electric light business jet, successfully completed inaugural wind tunnel tests on a prototype, validating its unique design with external hydrogen fuel tanks.
The BYA-1 features 700-bar gaseous hydrogen fuel tanks positioned outside the fuselage, a design choice intended to improve crashworthiness and safely vent hydrogen into the atmosphere.
The company is nearing the final stage of its preliminary design phase for the 6-8 passenger jet and plans to pursue EASA certification for a targeted 2030 introduction, projecting significant operational cost savings.

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A French company developing what it bills as the first hydrogen-electric light business jet is starting to put its unique architecture through experimental testing.

Beyond Aero—developer of the BYA-1, which it aims to introduce around 2030—on Monday revealed that it completed an inaugural wind tunnel test campaign using a one-eighth scale prototype. The company told FLYING it is nearing the final stage of its preliminary design phase, during which it will freeze the design. After that, it will begin formal certification efforts with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).