China’s Electric Passenger Aircraft CE-25A Completes First Crewed Flight
China’s domestically developed electric passenger aircraft, the CE-25A, successfully completed its first crewed test flight on November 14 in Binzhou, Shandong Province.
The aircraft, carrying two pilots and one flight test engineer, remained airborne for 16 minutes and 38 seconds, covering a distance of 60.4 kilometers. All flight parameters were reported to have remained within expected ranges during the test.
Developed through a collaboration between Chinese aircraft manufacturer COMAC, battery manufacturer CATL, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the CE-25A has a capacity of 19 passengers and a maximum takeoff weight of 10 tonnes. The aircraft features a distributed electric propulsion system consisting of ducted fans mounted on its wings.
The CE-25A has a reported cruising speed of 300 km/h, an operating altitude of 2,400 meters, and a range of 400 kilometers. It is intended for short-distance commercial passenger transportation between cities.
The aircraft reportedly completed its first autonomous unmanned flight on February 2 and has conducted 19 unmanned test flights to date.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has accepted the application for the aircraft’s type certification; however, the certification process has not yet been completed.
