Flight testingVolant Aerotech
VE25-100
Compound-wing passenger eVTOL
Chinese passenger eVTOL from Volant Aerotech. The card name is VE25-100, the type under CAAC certification. AC101 is the first development-batch airframe of that type, not a second model. X1 is an earlier full-scale technology demonstrator. Product page: 6 seats, 16.0 m wingspan, 9.5 m length, 2,500 kg MTOW, 500 kg payload, 200–400 km range, 235 km/h cruise, pure electric. It has eight electric motors. The same page says those figures are a design reference and final delivery may differ. East China CAAC accepted the type-certificate application in September 2023. Certification basis (G-1) and the project-specific certification plan were signed in April 2025. AC101 rolled out in May 2025, made its first free flight on 1 September 2025, flew piloted in October 2025, and completed a manned transition on 28 May 2026 at Zigong. The maker calls that the first such piloted transition by a Chinese eVTOL developer. Not yet type-certified. Not for private sale. Battery kWh and a retail price are not published.
- Range
- 200–400 km
(varies with speed, reserves, and how the pilot flies the mission).
- Payload
- 500 kg
- Cruise
- 235 km/h
(chosen by the pilot, and traded against range and endurance).
- Top speed
- 235 km/h (design maximum)
- Flight time
- Not published
(varies with the speed the pilot selects and the reserves kept for the mission).
- Price
- Not published
- MTOW
- 2,500 kg
- Seats
- 6 (pilot + 5 passengers)
- Battery / fuel
- Pure electric (capacity not published)
- Size
- 16.0 m span; 9.5 m long
- First flight
- 1 Sep 2025 (AC101 first free flight, Zigong)
- Entry into service
- Not published
Full figures
- Type
- VE25-100 compound-wing passenger eVTOL; AC101 is the first development-batch aircraft
- Seats
- 6 (pilot + 5 passengers)
- Wingspan / length
- 16.0 m / 9.5 m
- MTOW
- 2,500 kg
- Payload
- 500 kg
- Range
- 200–400 km
- Cruise
- 235 km/h (design maximum speed)
- Propulsion
- 8 electric motors, multi-redundant; single-rotor-failure and emergency-landing tests completed
- Safety
- designed to a 10⁻⁸ safety level
- Flight test
- X1 demonstrator first flight Jan 2023, full transition Jul 2024; AC101 first free flight 1 Sep 2025, first piloted flight Oct 2025, first piloted transition 28 May 2026 (Zigong)
- Certification
- CAAC East China TC application accepted Sep 2023; G-1 basis and PSCP Apr 2025; not yet type-certified
- Orders
- first firm order from CSA General Aviation (Jan 2025); 860+ strategic and intent orders (Volant)
- Note
- Volant says the figures are for a specific design version and for reference; delivered aircraft may differ
For
- Published product card: 6 seats, 200–400 km, 235 km/h, 2,500 kg
- AC101 has flown piloted, including a manned transition in May 2026
- CAAC type-certificate application accepted in 2023
Against
- Not type-certified, and the product page says specs may change
- Not for private sale
- Battery capacity and price unpublished