North Carolina to get HondaJet plant

The Honda Aircraft Company has announced that it will build a manufacturing facility at Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, North Carolina. The plant will be used to manufacture the lightweight business aircraft known as the HondaJet.

According to a Reuters article:

North Carolina agreed to give Honda Aircraft up to $6.68 million in tax benefits over the next 12 years. The company employs 50 workers at its Greensboro headquarters and plans to add 283 more to design and build the plane, at an average annual salary of around $70,000 a year, which is almost double the local average.

Honda plans to begin delivery of the HondaJet in 2010.

More than 100 orders for new HondaJet

This past July I made a post about Honda's plans to enter the aviation market with the introduction of a corporate jet. Apparently the idea of a HondaJet sounded appealing to quite a few folks. According to an AFP article on Breitbart.com, over100 orders have been placed for the new aircraft.

[Michimasa Fujino, chief executive of the Honda Aircraft Co. Inc.] said the firm had started working with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in October to gain approval for the HondaJet and that it expects to start deliveries to customers in 2010.

"The FAA certification takes three or four years because the process is very time-consuming," said Fujino.

He said the HondaJet will use about 30 percent less fuel than rival corporate jets, and that it is roomier than other planes in its class.

The jet's body is made of high-tech composite material that is also used to build Formula 1 racing cars, and it will be configured to carry two crew and five passengers.

The HondaJet will fly at over 420 nautical miles (778 kilometers) per hour with a cruising range of 1,180 nautical miles (2,185 kilometers).

Honda is entering the market in a joint venture with US-based Piper Aircraft, while it will collaborate with General Electric to make the plane's engines.

So far, orders have been taken from companies and private individuals, not fleet operators. Sounds like the HondaJet has a lot of potential for growth.

Source: Orders build up for Honda's new corporate jet - Breitbart.com

Technorati Tags: aircraft, business jets, corporate jets, HondaJet

Honda to join jet aviation market

Japan-based company Honda Motor Co. has announced that it will enter the aviation industry in the near future by producing a small jet aircraft. The company will begin taking orders this fall for the twin-engine HondaJet. The first jets are expected to be delivered in 2010.

A New York Times article, republished on the International Herald Tribune website says:

The HondaJet ... is the latest variation on Honda's tradition of offering all manner of motorized products. From its roots as an engine maker, Honda has built motorcycles, lawn mowers, cars, trucks, all-terrain vehicles and personal watercraft.

Regardless, the HondaJet, which has been under development for nine years, will face mushrooming competition in the very-light jet market, made up of planes weighing a maximum of 10,000 pounds, or 22,000 kilos, that can be flown by one pilot. The jets usually cost between $1.5 million and $4 million.

At least a dozen manufacturers, including Eclipse, Cessna and Embraer, plan to offer very light jets, which are aimed at owners of small businesses who do not need bigger planes or do not want to pay millions of dollars more to Gulfstream, Bombardier and Boeing.

Honda officials estimated that the very-light jet market would total about 200 planes per year and said that it hoped it could capture a good share of those sales. It would not be more specific about its sales target, nor say in which city the planes would be built.

But Honda said it hoped that the jet's unique features would set it apart. For one thing, the engines will be mounted over the wings, not over the tail as on many private jets. For another, the plane will make extensive use of composite materials instead of steel, which will make the HondaJet lighter and permit it to use less fuel.

The small jet will be capable of carrying seven people, including the pilot.

Source: Honda readies jet to join aviation market - International Herald Tribune

Technorati Tags: aircraft, aviation, aviation news, HondaJet