Volant VE25 completes maiden manned flight

From 4th to 14th October, the VOLANT VE25-100 AC101 aircraft successfully completed its first round of piloted test flights at the Zigong Flight Test Base.

This successful flight marks two domestic firsts: the inaugural in-cockpit piloted flight of an eVTOL exceeding two tonnes, and the first in-cockpit piloted flight of a large-wing eVTOL. It not only validated the VE25 aircraft's preliminary handling characteristics and system stability, but also accumulated practical experience for manned flight testing within the eVTOL industry. This represents a crucial step towards airworthiness certification and commercial operation.

The AC101 aircraft undertaking this mission is the first production model of the Volant VE25-100 variant. It represents Volant's third aircraft following the Tiny scale-down demonstrator and the full-scale X1 prototype. Compared to the technology demonstrators, this configuration features a complete structure incorporating design elements such as the cockpit, passenger cabin space, onboard thermal management, and cabin air conditioning. All onboard equipment possesses airworthiness certification, enabling the pilot to conduct flight operations from the cockpit. With a wingspan of 16 metres and a maximum take-off weight of approximately 2.6 tonnes, this model ranks among the world's largest known eVTOL products in terms of cabin space and payload capacity.

The VE25-100 is Volant's inaugural model developed for the regional air mobility market, positioned as a commercial passenger aircraft with elevated safety standards and airworthiness requirements. Currently, the certification foundation, specialised certification plan, and partial professional certification plans for this model have been confirmed and signed. The commencement of piloted flight testing marks a significant milestone in the development of passenger eVTOLs. This phase provides the most authentic validation of human-machine interaction, flight characteristics, and emergency response capabilities, serving as a crucial driver for advancing airworthiness certification. Following a comprehensive analysis of the inaugural flight test data, the VOLANT team will promptly initiate subsequent, more complex flight test programmes, thereby continuously advancing the VE25's development and airworthiness certification process.