China's electric aircraft makes debut flight

The AG60E, a type of electric plane developed by the State-owned conglomerate Aviation Industry Corp of China, made its first flight on Wednesday, according to the corporation.

The company said in a news release that an AG60E prototype took off from the Qiandaohu General Aviation Airport in Zhejiang province's Jiande and landed on the same airport after conducting a short test flight.

Developed and built by AVIC General Aircraft, the AG60E is an electrically powered version of the AG60 light-weight utility plane and has been designed for civilian purposes such as flight training, agricultural survey and aerial sightseeing.

Specifications about the new electric plane have yet to be published.

An AG60 is 6.9 meters long with a wingspan of 8.6 meters. It can fly to an altitude of 3.6 kilometers and has a maximum speed of 218 km per hour. The plane's flight range is about 1,100 km, according to the corporation.