COMAC's 10-ton-class CE-25A Completes First Manned Flight

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On November 14, the CE-25A, a 10-ton-class electric commercial aircraft independently developed by Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. (COMAC), completed its first manned intelligent flight in Binzhou, Shandong Province, with 2 pilots and 1 flight test engineer on board. The aircraft performed normally during the flight and all parameters met expectations. This marks another flight verification milestone for the aircraft following its first unmanned intelligent flight on February 2 this year.

The CE-25A is the first electric commercial aircraft developed by COMAC, primarily targeting the intercity commercial transportation market. It has a designed passenger capacity of 19, a maximum takeoff weight of 10 tons, a cruise speed of 300 km/h, a cruise altitude of 2,400 meters, and a designed range of 400 kilometers. The aircraft adopts a distributed electric ducted fan propulsion system mounted on the wings, with power provided by multiple electric propulsion units, differing from the layout of traditional commercial aircraft that use a single or a small number of large engines.

The aircraft was jointly developed by COMAC together with CATL, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and other institutions. The project focused on aviation electric propulsion systems, power batteries and whole-aircraft integration, and has cumulatively completed 19 unmanned autonomous flight verifications. This manned flight further advances the aircraft into the flight test phase involving a manned crew, with pilots and the onboard intelligent flight system jointly participating in flight missions.

The "25" in the CE-25A designation corresponds to China's CCAR-25 transport category aircraft airworthiness regulations, and the design was carried out in accordance with transport category aircraft airworthiness requirements. Currently, the Civil Aviation Administration of China has accepted the application for the aircraft's type certificate, and the corresponding airworthiness verification and certification work remains to be completed.