Honda HA-420 HondaJet

HA-420 HondaJet
HondaJet in flight at Oshkosh in 2011
Role Business jet
National origin Japan
United States
Manufacturer Honda Aircraft Company[1]
First flight 3 December 2003
Introduction January 2016
Status Active, In production
Produced 2012–present
Number built 16[2]
Unit cost
US$4.5 million (as of May 2015)[3]

The Honda HA-420 HondaJet is the first aircraft developed by Honda Aircraft Company. The light business jet was designed in Japan and then developed and manufactured in Greensboro, North Carolina in the United States.[4]

Development

Honda began to study small sized business jets in the late 1980s, using engines from other manufacturers. The Honda SHM-1/MH01 turboprop tested laminar flow wings,[5] 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.[6] Flight testing on the MH02 continued through 1996, after which the aircraft was shipped to Japan.

Designer Michimasa Fujino sketched the HondaJet in 1997, and the concept was locked in 1999. Testing in the Boeing windtunnel indicated a valid concept in 1999.[5][7]

A proof-of-concept (but not production-ready) version of the HondaJet first flew on 3 December 2003 at Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States.[8] Honda approved commercial development of the HondaJet in 2004.[9] The HondaJet made its world debut on 28 July 2005, at the annual EAA AirVenture Oshkosh airshow.[10] Honda announced on 25 July 2006 at that year's Airventure that it would commercialize the HondaJet.[11]

The first FAA-conforming (built to Federal Aviation Administration rules) HondaJet achieved its first flight on 20 December 2010.[12] The first flight of the first production HondaJet occurred on 27 June 2014,[13][14][15] and it was displayed at that year's AirVenture on 28 July.[16][17][18] Four HondaJets had test-flown 2,500 hours as of 2015.[19]

The HA-420 aircraft program itself was plagued by delays. The initial planned certification date was "Late 2010", but in Spring 2009 was delayed by a year.[20] In May 2010, the projected certification date was late 2012.[21] The program was incrementally delayed several more times.[22]

The HondaJet was awarded "Provisional FAA Certification" in March 2015, enabling continued production[23][24][25] and demonstration flights, but not customer delivery.[26][27] The aircraft received its FAA type certificate in December 2015.[28][29] A HondaJet toured Japan and Europe in 2015,[30] and the type received European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification in May 2016.[31]

Production

HondaJet formation

The production aircraft are built at Piedmont Triad Airport. Construction of the factory began in 2007 and was completed in late 2011.[32][33] In early 2015, there were twelve aircraft in final assembly and five more in earlier stages of production.[25] 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.[30] The engine factory achieved certification in March 2015.[25][34]

Honda delivered the first customer aircraft on December 23, 2015 at its world headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina[35] First delivery of a HondaJet to a European aircraft dealer took place in April 2016.[36] About 20 percent of the approximately 100 aircraft on order are destined for European customers.[36]

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.[2]

Design

Rear view of the aircraft, highlighting the podded engine configuration

The HondaJet is a low-wing monoplane with a conventional structure, it has a mainly composite fuselage and an aluminium wing. The aircraft is powered by two GE Honda Aero Engines HF-120 turbofans mounted on pylons above the wing. It has a retractable tricycle landing gear with both single wheeled main and nose landing gear.

Several aircraft with overwing podded engines have been tested, for various reasons. The configuration has been used on seaplanes, such as the Dornier Do X from 1929 and the modern jet-engined Beriev Be-200. It was also used on the VFW-Fokker 614, a 44-seat German jet airliner, in the early 1970s. The VFW-614 was designed for eliminating ingestion problems and weight. Others include NASA's Quiet Short-Haul Research Aircraft around 1980 and the Scaled Composites Triumph 8-place business jet in 1988.

The HondaJet’s overwing engine mount configuration was designed to maximize cabin space,[5] and achieve lower wave drag at a high Mach number. 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.[7][37] Honda claims that the combination of lightweight materials, aerodynamics and efficient engines gives the HondaJet up to 20% better fuel efficiency than similar aircraft.[38]

Honda began developing its own small turbofan engine, the HF118, in 1999. This led to the HF120, developed with GE Aviation under the GE-Honda partnership. The HF120 was test-flown on a Cessna Citation CJ1.[39] 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,[40] and production certification in 2015.[25][34]

Interior of the HondaJet

The passenger area is 5.43 m (17.80 ft) long and has an enclosed lavatory. The semi-round cabin is 12.1 ft long, 1.52 m (5.00 ft) wide, and 1.46 m (4.80 ft) high.[41]

Garmin 3000 Avionics for the HA-420

The aircraft is equipped with a touchscreen 3-display Garmin G3000[32] glass cockpit system (i.e. most of the cockpit readouts are presented on flat-panel displays).

Fujino received the 2014 International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences award for the design[42] as well as an Aviation Industry Leader of the Year Award.[43]

In 2014, the aircraft was awarded a 'Best of What's New' title by Popular Science magazine.

Specifications

Data from Aviation International News[44]

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
Related lists

References

  1. ↑ Aviation Week & Space Technology, First Flight for Production HondaJet, 7 July 2014, p. 11
  2. 1 2 Chad Trautvetter (November 14, 2016). "HondaJet Production To Reach 80 Annually by March 2019". Aviation International News.
  3. ↑ "Business Jets Specification and Performance Data" (PDF). Business & Commercial Aviation. Aviation Week. May 2015.
  4. ↑ "Greensboro-made HondaJet debuts at Wisconsin airshow". News & Record. July 28, 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 Warwick, Graham. "Opening doors" Flight International, 9–15 January 2007.
  6. ↑ "Raspet Flight Research Laboratory: History/Honda Jet". Ae.msstate.edu. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
  7. 1 2 Fujino, Michimasa. "Design and Development of the HondaJet" Journal of Aircraft, Vol. 42, No. 3, May–June 2005. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  8. ↑ “Driven to Succeed.” Wingsmagazine.com Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  9. ↑ Matoon, Jeff. "The world of HondaJet" page 5. PilotMag, May/June 2012
  10. ↑ “HondaJet makes world debut at EAA AirVenture.” AINonline.com Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  11. ↑ “Honda Gives Green Light for HondaJet.” AINonline.com (14 November 2006). Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  12. ↑ Welsh, Jonathan. “New HondaJet Makes First Flight.” Blogs.WSJ.com (22 December 2010). Retrieved 5 February 2015/
  13. ↑ Lavender, Chris. Flight sends Hondajet into next phase Times-News, Burlington, N.C. July 2014
  14. ↑ AW&ST, 7 July 2014, p. 11
  15. ↑ “First Production HondaJet Takes Off.” Fly-Corporate.com Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  16. ↑ “First Production HondaJet Makes Public Debut At AirVenture.” MidwestFlyer.com Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  17. ↑ Whitfield, Bethany. "Production Conforming HondaJet Debuts at Oshkosh" Flying (magazine), 29 July 2014.
  18. ↑ Reynolds, Ric. "HondaJet Makes Another Oshkosh First" Experimental Aircraft Association, 28 July 2014.
  19. ↑ Kauh, Elaine (27 March 2015). "HondaJet Nears Final Type Certification". avweb.com. Aviation Publishing Group. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  20. ↑ "HondaJet delays delivery of first light jet; opening of Albany operation also delayed - Albany Business Review". Albany Business Review. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  21. ↑ "More Delays Logged in HondaJet Program". Aviation International News. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  22. ↑ "HondaJet Certification Pushed Out to Late 2014". Aviation International News. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  23. ↑ "Honda’s HondaJet HA-420 Ready To Begin Deliveries In 2015"
  24. ↑ Thurber, Matt (27 March 2015). "HondaJet Receives Provisional FAA Certification". Aviation International News. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 Trimble, Stephen (27 March 2015), "HondaJet gains provisional type certificate, deliveries near", Flightglobal, Reed Business Information, retrieved 29 March 2015
  26. ↑ "Provisional Airworthiness Certification"
  27. ↑ "Special Airworthiness Certificate, Provisional Category" FAA
  28. ↑ "FAA awards type certification to HondaJet" December 9, 2015 FlightGlobal: Stephen Trimble https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/faa-awards-type-certification-to-hondajet-419890/
  29. ↑ "TYPE CERTIFICATE DATA SHEET NO. A00018AT Revision 0" (PDF). FAA. December 8, 2015.
  30. 1 2 Lynch, Kerry (18 May 2015). "HondaJet Debuts In Europe With Certification Close". Aviation International News. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  31. ↑ "HondaJet Achieves EASA Certification". Flying Magazine. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  32. 1 2 Garvey, William. HondaJet flight testing is underway Aviation Week. Accessed: 9 January 2011.
  33. ↑ "Honda Aircraft Company Updates HondaJet Program | HondaJet | News". Hondajet.honda.com. 2009-04-30. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
  34. 1 2 Trautvetter, Chad (18 March 2015). "GE Honda Wins FAA Production Certificate for HF120 Engine". Aviation International News. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  35. ↑ http://myfox8.com/2015/12/24/honda-aircraft-delivers-its-first-hondajet/
  36. 1 2 Namowitz, Dan (11 July 2016). "HONDA GAINS FAA PRODUCTION CERTIFICATE". AOPA. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  37. ↑ Garrison, Peter. "Technicalities" page 83 Flying Magazine, December 2006
  38. ↑ "Honda out to shake up market with first jet next year". Reuters. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  39. ↑ "Approval testing continues for HF120 turbofan". Aviation International News. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  40. ↑ "FAA Certifies GE Honda Aero Engines HF120 Turbofan". Aviation International News. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  41. ↑ "HondaJet brochure, Specifications" page 17. Size: 10MB
  42. ↑ Trautvetter, Chad. "Aeronautical Sciences Council Recognizes Honda Aircraft Leader Fujino" AINonline, 11 September 2014. Accessed: 4 September 2014
  43. ↑ "Honda Aircraft's Fujino given prestigious honour".
  44. ↑ Matt thurber (4 July 2016). "Pilot Report" (PDF). Aviation International News.
  45. ↑ "Cessna Citation M2 Versus the World: Comparison Specs" Flying Magazine, 11 November 2013.
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