THE glass pod of the i360 has been raised to its maximum height for the first time.

Onlookers would have seen the pod of the British Airways i360 ascend to its pinnacle of 138m above sea level on Tuesday evening.

Technicians stood on temporary “crow’s nests” installed on the top of the pod as they carried out checks on the cladding and the electrical cable trunking behind it which carries power up the tower and into the pod.

Further tests were being carried out inside the pod, at the top of the tower, on the counterweight inside the tower, in the control room and in the machine room.

Chief executive Eleanor Harris took a trip up to around 30 metres high and said she couldn't wait "to get the full experience".

She said: "Although we didn’t go high enough to get the fantastic view, we did get a chance to feel what it is like to take a flight in the glass pod.

"It feels incredibly spacious when inside. It was also completely silent - the cable car technology makes no sound at all."

David Marks of Marks Barfield Architects, which conceived and designed British Airways i360 and the London Eye, added: “The team reached a major milestone with the pod reaching its maximum height for the first time. Testing and commissioning will continue for a few more weeks.”

A flurry of reaction was sparked on social media following the pod rising 138m, with online comments on Twitter suggesting a softening of public opinion towards the controversial architecture project.

Leading Brighton architect Paul Zara of Conran and Partners said it was “time people stopped moaning and got behind it".

Mr Zara told The Argus: “People seem to saying negative things about it but it is not going to go away, it is going to be a symbol of our city so it is time to get behind it.

“Seeing the pod going up and down, it’s really a beautiful thing - and they are world class architects and we should be happy we’ve got something so world class in our city.”

Elsewhere on Twitter one user wrote “looks like the doughnut thingy is coming along", another said he was warming up to it after initial scepticism, and Sian Jasper wrote: “Looks so space-age, I love it!”

Initial test movements began earlier in June but only reached 30m, and testing will continue over the coming weeks in advance of a launch date “this summer” which has yet to be precisely confirmed by i360 staff.

The pod is not designed to reach the apex of the 162m tower and only ascends to the 138m point.

British Airways i360 will be the world’s tallest moving observation tower when it opens on Brighton beach this summer, offering 360-degree views of Brighton and Hove, the Sussex coast and the English Channel.