Aircraft Guide: Honda HA420 HondaJet

No doubt, Honda Jet is the most desirable & wanted aircraft of its class someone to own. Orders are accepted since a long time. But the deliveries initially were planned on 2011.  It’s not a tragedy, because the policy of this manufacturer to deliver just a perfect product. & hundreds of customers who already made their down payment in 2004-2006, patiently wait the beginning of the deliveries.

Honda began their 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 & assembled at Mississippi State University’s Raspet Flight Research Laboratory in the late 1980s & early 1990s.

While HondaJet prototype first flown  in December 2003,  it was announced aircraft to the public in July 2005 at Oshkosh during annual EAA AirVenture air show. It was also announced about establishing the Honda Aircraft Company to seek both type & production certification of the HondaJet with production to take place in the United States.

In August 2006 Honda & Piper Aircraft announced a partnership to market 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 & 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 aluminium. The use of a single sheet allows for a smoother surface than more conventional methods. Honda claims that the combination of lightweight materials, aerodynamics & the efficient engines gives the HondaJet a 30-35% higher fuel efficiency than aircraft of its class.

Honda will be powered by its own small turbofan engine, the HF118. The engine features a single fan, a two-stage compressor & a two-stage turbine.

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

Presently the aircraft & engines ground tests are on the way.  According to Honda Aircraft Company, aircraft sales & deliveries to start in 2011; customers who already made a down payment earlier will get the jet for $3.65M

 

Plane info

Cruise speed: 778 km/h

Total range: 2 037 km

Engines: Honda HF118 turbofan with FADEC

Aircraft dimensions

Wingspan: 12.2 m

Length: 12.52 m

Height: 4.01 m

 

Cabin

Length: 4.6 m

Width: 1.5 m

Height: 1.5 m

Passengers: up to 5

Baggage capacity: 1.87 cubic m