New jet in town: general aviation community readies for HondaJet light business aircraft certification and production this year
GREENSBORO, N.C., 10 April 2012. The business aviation community is preparing for a new light jet aircraft entry this year, with the expected type and production certification of the eight-seat HondaJet aircraft, which is designed to be fast, high-flying, quiet, and fuel-efficient.
Expected type and production certification by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) this year will signal the start of commercial production of the general aviation light business jet, which will seat two crew members and five or six passengers. Delivery of the first production HondaJet could be by the end of this year or early next.
The HondaJet has an advanced glass flight deck with a Honda-customized Garmin G3000 next-generation all-glass avionics system with three 14-inch landscape-format displays and dual touch-screen controllers.
Production of the HondaJet will be at Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, N.C. The third HondaJet test version first flew last November. Officials of Honda Aircraft Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of American Honda Motors Inc., say they expect to add two new test aircraft to their HondaJet fleet later this year. The first FAA-conforming HondaJet first flew in late 2010.
The HondaJet design has a trademark engine configuration that mounts the aircraft's twin engines above the wing for performance and fuel efficiency. Powering the jet is the GE Honda HF120 turbofan jet engine. It is Honda's first-ever commercial aircraft.
The HondaJet will have a maximum range of 1,611 miles -- roughly the distance from New York to Houston -- climbs at nearly 4,000 feet per minute, can cruise as fast as 483 miles per hour, can take off on runways as short as 4,000 feet, and land on runways as short as 3,000 feet.
The aircraft is 42.6 feet long, 15 feet high, and has a wingspan of nearly 40 feet. The HondaJet is designed to compete in the light business jet market with aircraft such as the Cessna Citation CJ3, the Embraer Phenom 300, and the Learjet 24.
For more information contact Honda Aircraft Co. online at http://hondajet.honda.com.
Follow Military & Aerospace Electronics and Avionics Intelligence news updates on Twitter
John Keller | Editor-in-Chief
John Keller is the Editor-in-Chief, Military & Aerospace Electronics Magazine--provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronics and optoelectronic technologies in military, space and commercial aviation applications. John has been a member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since 1989 and chief editor since 1995.
