Honda HA-420 HondaJet
The Honda HA-420 HondaJet is the first aircraft developed by the Honda Aircraft Company. It is a twin-engine, seven- or eight-seat light business jet, and is also considered as a very light jet. It was designed in Japan in the late 1990s then developed and manufactured in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States. Its first flight took place in 2003 and deliveries commenced in December 2015. By March 2020, 150 HondaJets were delivered.
The HondaJet has received multiple awards for innovation; most of them related to the over the wing engine mount, which allows for improved drag, while increasing available cabin space.
Development
Honda began to study small sized business jets in the late 1980s, using engines from other manufacturers. The Honda MH01 turboprop used an all-composite construction, and the Honda MH02 was fabricated and assembled at Mississippi State University's Raspet Flight Research Laboratory in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The MH02 was a prototype using carbon fiber/epoxy composite materials and was the first all-composite light business jet to fly. Flight testing on the MH02 continued through 1996, after which the aircraft was shipped to Japan.Designer and company founder Michimasa Fujino began sketching the HondaJet in 1997, and the concept was solidified in 1999. According to Fujino, design of the HondaJet nose was inspired by Salvatore Ferragamo shoes. Testing in the Boeing windtunnel indicated a valid concept in 1999.
In October 2000, research facility at Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, North Carolina was established. A proof-of-concept version of the HondaJet first flew on December 3, 2003 there. Honda approved commercial development of the HondaJet in 2004. The HondaJet made its world debut on July 28, 2005, at the annual EAA AirVenture Oshkosh airshow. At the following year's Airventure, Honda announced that it would commercialize the HondaJet.
After the commercialization of the HondaJet HA-420 was announced by Honda in 2006, the first delivery was planned for 2010. The first FAA-conforming HondaJet achieved its first flight on 20 December 2010. The first flight of the first production HondaJet occurred on June 27, 2014, and it was displayed at that year's AirVenture on 28 July. Four HondaJets had test-flown 2,500 hours as of 2015.
The HondaJet was awarded a "Provisional Type Certificate“ from the FAA in March 2015. This enabled continued production and demonstration flights, including a HondaJet tour in Japan and Europe in 2015. The aircraft received its FAA type certificate in December 2015 and received its European Aviation Safety Agency type certificate in May 2016. The HondaJet was also certified in Japan in December 2018.
Production
The production aircraft are built at Piedmont Triad International Airport. Construction of the factory began in 2007 and was completed in late 2011. In early 2015, there were 12 aircraft in final assembly and five more in earlier stages of production. Twenty aircraft were in production by May 2015. Honda estimated it would produce 40 aircraft in the first full year and up to 60 each year after that. The engine factory achieved certification in March 2015.Honda delivered the first customer aircraft on December 23, 2015, at its world headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina. The first delivery of a HondaJet to a European aircraft dealer took place in April 2016. About 20% of the approximately 100 aircraft on order are destined for European customers as reported in April 2016.
Honda plans to ramp up production to 80 units per year after March 2019. Sixteen aircraft were delivered in the first three quarters of 2016, reaching a 36 per year production rate. In 2017, 15 were produced in the first quarter, and the annual target is between 55 and 60 aircraft. After deliveries began in late 2015, the HondaJet soon became one of the top-selling aircraft in its class.
In July 2019, Honda Aircraft began construction of a new $15.5 million, 82,000-square-foot wing assembly center on its campus. The new facility, which is meant to enhance production efficiently by allowing wings to be assembled concurrently, is expected to open in July 2020.
HondaJet Elite
In May 2018, the $5.2 million HondaJet Elite was revealed, with an expanded performance envelope, improved interior and updated flight deck. The type certificate was amended by the FAA on 2 May 2018, and soon followed by EASA. Honda began deliveries on August 7, 2018.Elite's elevator authority is increased to reduce its takeoff roll by, reducing the Cessna Citation M2's take-off advantage. Range is increased by with an auxiliary fuel tank and aerodynamic improvements. The horizontal stabilizer tips are extended slightly and hinge gaps tightened up, allowing energized flow over the stabilizer without its vortex generators. A new engine inlet reduces vibration and cabin noise, the lavatory receives a belted seat allowing a fifth passenger even with a galley; avionics improvements with Garmin G3000-based flight deck include takeoff and landing calculations, angle of attack protection, and Flight Stream 510 functionality.
Elite's payload is increased by over : from the empty weight reduction and from an increased maximum takeoff weight while more of fuel tank fill unused space in the aft fuselage.
At a weight of and ISA+3°C, the HondaJet Elite cruises at Mach 0.676 or TAS, while burning per hour, better than book predictions.
In October 2019, Honda Aircraft Company presented first medevac-configured HondaJet Elite for air ambulance use. In the same month, a HondaJet Elite flew to the 2019 National Business Aviation Association meeting using sustainable aviation fuel. Also in 2019, HondaJet received type certification in China, Canada, and Turkey.
In 2020, EASA certified HondaJet Elite for steep approaches, and for up to 8 occupants.
HondaJet APMG
To retrofit some of the upgrades of HondaJet Elite to pre-Elite HondaJets, an APMG upgrade is available for $250,000. This includes 100 to 120 nmi range increase, and a MTOW increase and take-off run reduction by to ; this is achieved by a few inches span extension of the horizontal tailplane, and removal of wing fences and vortex generators. Avionics upgrades include takeoff and landing calculations, Flight Stream 510 wireless gateway compatibility, an enhanced electronic checklist, angle-of-attack indicator on the PFD, and visual approaches. On the other hand, HondaJet Elite features such as an additional fuel tank or engine inlet acoustic improvement, are not available with APMG.Design
The HondaJet is a low-wing monoplane, it has a mainly composite fuselage and an aluminium wing.Engines are mounted on pylons above the wing, a configuration designed to maximize cabin space, and achieve lower wave drag at a high Mach number. This configuration was first introduced in 1970s in VFW-Fokker 614, but the result was disappointing, so such configurations are unpopular. To address related issues, and unlike previous designs, on HondaJet the engines are mounted almost entirely behind the wing. This design allowed to reduce drag while preserving docile stall characteristics and satisfying flutter-clearance requirements. OTWEM configuration is often named the most unusual feature of the HondaJet.
The nose and wing are designed for laminar flow, and the main fuselage has a constant profile, making an eventual stretch easier. The combination of engine placement, wing and fuselage was achieved using computer simulations and wind tunnels.
HondaJet has a retractable tricycle landing gear with both main and nose landing gear single-wheeled.
The aircraft is powered by two GE Honda HF120 turbofans, developed with GE Aviation under the GE-Honda partnership.
Honda began developing its own small turbofan engine, the HF118, in 1999, leading to the HF120. The HF120 was test-flown on a Cessna Citation CJ1. The engine features a single fan, a two-stage compressor and a two-stage turbine. The GE Honda HF120 received FAA type certification on 13 December 2013, and production certification in 2015.
Honda claims that the combination of lightweight materials, aerodynamics and efficient engines gave the HondaJet up to 20% better fuel efficiency than similar aircraft. In 2019, Business & Commercial Aviation reported that for a 4-passenger mission HondaJet Elite uses of fuel, compared to for the Phenom 100EV, and to for the Citation M2; for a mission the numbers become, , and respectively.
The interior dimensions are long, wide, and high, while the cabin is long besides the enclosed lavatory. Total interior volume is, and luggage capacity is.
The aircraft is equipped with a touchscreen 3-display Garmin G3000 glass cockpit system. Most of the cockpit readouts are presented on flat-panel displays.
Accolades
Michimasa Fujino received the Business & Commercial Aviation - Vision Award,the AIAA - Aircraft Design Award,
the SAE International - Clarence L. Johnson Aerospace Vehicle Design and Development Award,
the 2014 ICAS award for Innovation in Aeronautics for leading the design, as well as a Living Legends of Aviation Industry Leader of the Year award.
The HondaJet was included in the Robb Report - Best of the Best : Business Jets,
in the Aviation Week & Space Technology - Techs To Watch, in the 2014 'Best of What's New' by Popular Science magazine, and the Flying Magazine - Flying Innovation Award in 2017. The Honda Aircraft Company received the AIAA Foundation Award for Excellence in 2018.
Operational history
As of March 2020, the 150 HondaJet aircraft in service have logged 40,000 hours with a 99.7% dispatch reliability.The HA-420 was involved in one hull-loss accident with no injuries.
Specifications (Elite)
Deliveries
| Year | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | All |
| Deliveries | 2 | 23 | 43 | 37 | 36 | |
| Billings | 9 | 103.5 | 209.2 | 183.1 | 179.5 | |
| Average | 4.5 | 4.5 |
Deliveries dropped in 2018 because of a combination of the transition to the HondaJet Elite, timing of fleet deliveries and customers' schedules.