China's CE-25A electric aircraft completes first piloted test; certification is still required

China's 10-tonne-class CE-25A electric commercial aircraft completed its first piloted test flight in Binzhou, Shandong province, on Saturday. Two pilots and a flight-test engineer were aboard the aircraft developed by Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, known as COMAC. The flight is a development milestone, not the start of scheduled passenger services.

The test lasted 57 minutes and 46 seconds overall, including 16 minutes and 38 seconds in the air, during which the aircraft covered 60.4 kilometres. COMAC said the aircraft operated normally and that the test results met expectations. Those are the developer's reported findings from this test, rather than a completed airworthiness approval.

Short intercity routes are the design target

The CE-25A is designed to carry 19 passengers between cities. Its stated maximum takeoff weight is 10 metric tonnes, with a cruising speed of 300 kilometres an hour, a cruising altitude of 2,400 metres and a range of 400 kilometres. The 10-tonne description is a weight class, not a claim that it carries 10 tonnes of passengers or cargo.

A distributed electric ducted-fan propulsion system is mounted on the wings. COMAC is working with battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and other domestic partners. The piloted test follows a first unmanned autonomous flight on 2 February and 19 unmanned autonomous flight tests during development, according to COMAC.

China's civil aviation regulator has accepted the application for a type certificate. The aircraft is being developed under CCAR-25 transport-category airworthiness rules, which also apply to large passenger aircraft. Acceptance of an application starts a regulatory process; certification must still be completed before commercial entry into service.