The CE-25A, a fully electric transport aircraft of Chinese origin with a maximum mass of 10 tons, this Saturday carried out its first crewed test flight in the city of Binzhou, in Shandong’s eastern province.
The aircraft took off with two pilots and a test engineer on board and landed without any setbacks. "All indicators have met expectations," the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC, for its English-language acronym) said.
This is the first model of electric commercial aircraft developed by COMAC, designed mainly to operate regular routes between different cities. The aircraft can take off with a maximum takeoff weight of ten tons and has capacity to carry 19 passengers.
The CE-25A reaches a cruising speed of 300 kilometers per hour at a service altitude of 2,400 meters and offers a range of 400 kilometers. Its first uncrewed flight took place on February 2 of last year, and since then it has carried out another 18 test missions without passengers.
The aircraft is equipped with a battery supplied by the Chinese company CATL and has had the participation of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, in addition to other collaborating entities, in its development process.