FlyNow Aviation reports it achieved in June 2025 a milestone in the development of its modular eCopter family with the first untethered test flights completed at the new testing site in Eastern Austria.
“Starting in 2023, we conducted extensive flight testing at Salzburg Airport (LOWS), where safety regulations require tethered operations due to nearby air traffic and infrastructure,” said the company in a press release. “These tethered flights were crucial for system validation and allowed us to collect valuable data and train the flight control computer. Building on this foundation, we have now successfully transitioned to untethered flight testing at our newly secured test site in Eastern Austria.”
“With this free flight, we’ve shown that FlyNow is ready to lift urban mobility off the ground,” said Yvonne Winter, Co-Founder and COO of FlyNow Aviation GmbH. “We focus on reducing complexity and maximizing safety — principles that are essential for scalable, sustainable air transport.”
The untethered test flights of the FlyNow eCopter focus on gathering extensive flight data under real-world conditions. These lower-altitude flights are essential to validate system stability and safety, optimize flight control and propulsion systems and advance the modular platform toward full certification
“Having achieved our first certification milestone in 2022 in Specific Category SAIL II, FlyNow is now actively testing the second iteration of the eCopter and on the way towards SAIL IV that enables commercial cargo transportation. FlyNow Aviation’s roadmap includes launching commercial cargo operations by 2027. After accumulating over 1 million kilometers with the cargo version to meet the highest safety standards, passenger flights will follow, providing safe, low-emission, and affordable urban mobility.”
For more information