HA-420 HondaJet
HondaJet inflight at Oshkosh in 2005
Role	Business jet
National origin	Japan
Manufacturer	Honda Aircraft Company
Designer	Michimasa Fujino
First flight	3 December 2003
Introduction	2011
Status	Under development
Number built	3 prototypes
Unit cost	US$4.5 million [3]

The Honda HA-420 HondaJet is the first aircraft available to the general aviation market to be developed by the Honda Motor Company.

Development

Honda began research into small sized business jets in the late 1980s, using engines from other manufacturers. The Honda MH02, an organic matrix composite prototype, was fabricated and assembled at Mississippi State University's Raspet Flight Research Laboratory in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

The HondaJet made its maiden flight in December 2003 and was debuted to the public at the EAA AirVenture air show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in July 2005. On July 25, 2006, Honda returned to Oshkosh to announce it would commercialize the HondaJet, establishing the Honda Aircraft Company to seek both type and production certification of the HondaJet with production to take place in the United States. The company began taking customer orders for HondaJet in the fall of 2006 at a price of approximately $3.65 million US. The plan is to build 70 jets per year.

In August 2006 Honda and Piper Aircraft announced a partnership to market the HondaJet.

In May 2010, it is reported assembly of major components of the first conforming HondaJet, including the composite fuselage, metal wings, empennage, landing gear and over-the-wing-mounted engine pylons has completed, and work to complete integration of major systems, including electrical, hydraulic and environmental control, has started. The first conforming engine will be delivered in the third quarter of 2010 and be installed on the aircraft. Honda Aircraft is reported to begin static testing of a conforming airframe in May 2010.

Because of delays in some components, maiden flight of the first design- and production-conforming plane was scheduled for November 2010, but actually took place on the 20-21st of December 2010 while FAA certification is expected to follow 20 months later. Delivery of the first plane is planned for the third quarter of 2012.

Design

Interior of the HondaJet

Honda decided to go with an unusual over-the-wing podded engine configuration, a feature developed on the innovative Vereinigte Flugtechnische Werke VFW-614 decades earlier, which allows for more space within the fuselage and reduction of drag at higher speeds. The fuselage itself is made from lightweight composite materials, while the wings are made from structurally reinforced single sheets of aluminum. The use of a single sheet allows for a smoother surface than more conventional methods. Honda claims that the combination of lightweight materials, aerodynamics and the efficient engines gives the HondaJet a 30-35% higher fuel efficiency than similar aircraft.

Honda began developing its own small turbofan engine, the HF118, in 1999. This led to the evolution of the HF120, which was developed with GE Aviation under the GE Honda partnership, and was test-flown on a Cessna Citation and on a modified Boeing 727-100. The engine features a single fan, a two-stage compressor and a two-stage turbine. Further design testing on wing shape and design were done on a T-33 Shooting Star, modified by AVTEL Services, Inc, and flight tested at the Mojave Airport.

The aircraft is equipped with a touchscreen 3-display Garmin G3000 glass cockpit system (i.e. most of the cockpit readouts are presented on flat-panel displays).

Production

The aircraft will be made at Piedmont Triad International Airport, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA. The plant for making the aircraft was started in 2007 and will be completed by the end of 2011. In July 2011 the Honda Company allowed members of the media to tour the still-under-construction facility, and at that time indicated that production of the (expected-to-be-certified) airplane would begin late in 2012.

In 2008 the Honda executives predicted that they would sell 70 planes per year. In July 2011 they indicated their plan is to produce (and therefore sell) 70 to 100 planes per year.

Specifications (HA-420 HondaJet)

Data from {Honda Aircraft Company}

General characteristics

• Crew: 1-2 crew members
• Capacity: 5 passengers (6 Passengers for AirTaxi)
• Length: 41.70 ft (12.71 m)
• Wingspan: 39.87 ft (12.15 m)
• Height: 13.21 ft (4.03 m)
• Max takeoff weight: 9,200 lb (4,173 kg)
• Powerplant: 2 × GE Honda HF120 turbofan engines, 1,880lbf each (Bypass Ratio= 2.9) (8.04kN) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 420 KTAS (778 km/h, 483 mph)
• Cruise speed: 420 KTAS (FL300)
• Range: 1400 nm (1611 mi, 2,593 km) (VFR Range)
• Service ceiling: 43,000 ft (13,107 m)
• Rate of climb: 3990 ft/min (20.27 m/s)

Avionics
Garmin G3000 glass cockpit

See also

• Very light jet
  

Related development

• Honda MH02
  

Comparable aircraft

• PiperJet
  

Related lists

• List of business jets
• List of very light jets
  

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