Honda To Conquer The Skies

The sky is the limit! And Honda Motors has already announced its plans to accept sales orders in the U.S. for their very first jet, the HondaJet. Honda made the announcement at the Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture 2006.

Honda also announced that they have plans to enter the aviation industry and to build a business alliance with the co-developer of the HondaJet, Piper Aircraft Inc. Honda Motors and Piper Aircraft will work together and collaborate on sales, services, and development in the general aviation business. Complete details on the collaboration of Honda and Piper Aircraft were, however, not included in the announcement.

The first public world debut of the HondaJet took place at the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) AirVenture 2005 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The EEA AirVenture is the largest annual aviation gathering. The HondaJet was built using the latest technology in the aviation development industry, the patented over-the-wing engine-mount configuration, a natural-laminar flow (NLF) wing, fuselage nose, and the advanced all-composite fuselage structure. The said features were the innovative output of a 20-year aviation research of Honda Motors. Some say that the HondaJet was an aircraft version of the Honda Civic.

Satoshi Toshida, Senior Managing Director of Honda Motors said: "Aviation has been an important dream of Honda for more than four decades. Our goal is consistent with the philosophy of other Honda products -- to provide convenient and efficient transportation that will make people's lives better. We are excited now to enter a new dimension of mobility. In Piper we believe we have a partner we can collaborate with in our effort to bring new value to customers in the very light jet market."

"Honda is a company with a rich heritage of bringing high quality, innovative products to market. This business alliance is a perfect fit given the commitment both Piper and Honda have to providing our respective customers with world-class products and services. Piper is very excited about this alliance and the way it complements our vision for the future," said James K. Bass, President and CEO of Piper Aircraft, Inc.

The HondaJet's main specifications include a 7-seater capacity, two GE-Honda HF118 TurboFan engine, and maximum speed of 778 km/hour (420 knots), 12,497 operational ceiling, and a range of 2,037 km. As of the moment, the development of HondaJet by Honda Motors and Piper Aircraft is still ongoing. Moreover, Honda is currently building automotive products such as Honda motorcycles, cars, and other Honda Civic parts in 13 manufacturing plants in the U.S. and other regional subsidiaries.