Content area
Full text
First it was motorcycles ... then cars ... then lawnmowers. Wait till you see what Honda's up to now.
When the Hondells sang "Little Honda" back in 1964, who would have dreamed the Japanese company would one day set its eye on the sky? Well, it has. And if the $3.65 million HondaJet is a tad more expensive than those early bikes, the Honda 50 never cruised at 420 knots.
Honda's foray into small aircraft and jet engines began in 1986. Seven years later, the company hooked up with Mississippi State University to study compositebody aircraft. The partnership resulted in the development of the MH02, a six-passenger experimental jet with a forward-bent, highwing design (12° forward angle and ¼-wing chord) and a T-type empennage (tail assembly).
According to Honda, the MH02 was the first all-composite small business jet using lightweight carbon- fiber-reinforced epoxy resins in all the structural elements. The MH02 was powered by two Pratt & Whitney JT-15D-1 Turbofans and had a top speed of 353 knots.
The HondaJet, successor to the MH02 and the company's first commercial offering, stands 13-ft high at the top of its tail, seats six or seven, and cruises at 420 knots (about 480 mph). The elongated, tapered nose and pearlescent dark-sky-blue color give this bird a highly stylized look, but it's the engines mounted above the wings that make it a real head turner, and fuel efficient to boot.
So far, Honda says it's pleased with early customer response. The company is negotiating with a number of potential fleet customers as well as individual buyers. The Honda Aircraft Co. will produce the new jet at a dedicated facility in the U.S. An application for type certification went to the FAA last fall. Certification is expected to take three to four years.
Overall efficiency of the Honda- Jet is 30% better than jets of similar size and performance, according to the company. Besides the unusual engine placement, the new jet boasts a natural-laminar flow (NLF) wing and NLF fuselage nose design, a lighter...