Honda’s ‘compact jet’ takes its first test drive | Aviation International News

Honda’s ‘compact jet’ takes its first test drive

Honda’s “research project” light jet now has its first logbook entry.

January 26, 2007

Honda’s “research project” light jet now has its first logbook entry. The six-passenger HondaJet (its now-official provisional name) broke ground for the first time on December 3 from Honda’s purpose-built research facility at Piedmont Triad Regional Airport (GSO), Greensboro, N.C., on the leasehold of FBO and mod specialist Atlantic Aero.

As important as the first flight, Honda has broken its official silence on the project. Though Jeffrey Smith, a Honda spokesman, reaffirmed that the company “has no business plan” to certify or manufacture the HondaJet, the company’s corporate headquarters officially acknowledged its existence for the first time last month with a December 16 press release. The release announced the first flight and provided some preliminary specifications. Smith said, “This is an experimental jet. The [first] test flight and all subsequent test flights are designed to validate the technology. Honda continues to challenge itself in a wide range of technologies from jet aircraft to fuel cells to humanoid robotics. It’s in our nature.” The HondaJet’s test regime is expected to include 200 hours of flight testing.

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