Honda puts HondaJet VLJ on sale one year after launch at OshKosh

Flight International ^ | 07/25/06 | Jeffrey Decker

[managusta]

Honda today announced plans to enter the growing very light jet market by formally launching sales of the HondaJet at OshKosh.

The company made the announcment at the US Experimental Aircraft Association's (EAA) AirVenture 2006 air show in OshKosh, Wisconsin. The Japanese automotive company, which revealed the previously-secret project 12 months ago, will establish a new US company to pursue Federal Aviation Administration type certification and production certification. "We will have more information to share this [Northern Hemisphere] Fall," Satoshi Toshida, senior managing director of Honda Motor said. "But today we're excited to announce our intention to enter the very light jet market. We are very confident that HondaJet will be welcomed by customers and that it will quickly become the benchmark in the field of light business jets."

Honda will create a new American subsidiary to pursue certification of the jets, but officials wouldn't reveal where the jets will be manufactuered, other than to say it will be in the USA.

Sales and service will fall under a new partnership with Piper Aircraft. Piper President and chief executive James Bass was at the Honda exhibit in Oshkosh, Wisconsin to join in the announcement. "This business alliance is a perfect fit given the committment both Piper and Honda have to providing our respective customers with world class products and services," he said.

The announcements were made at Airventure, the same venue where Hondajet was first seen by the public one year ago.

Reporters had lots of questions for Michimasa Fujino, HondaJet project leader and vice president of Honda Research & Development Americas. No official performance specifications were given, but so far the 6-7 seat HondaJet has completed more than 240h of flight-testing since December 2003, reaching an altitude of 43,000ft (13,000m) and a speed of 412kt (765km/h) and is on course to meet or exceed all of its design specifications, says Honda.

The HondaJet features an over-the-wing engine-mount configuration, a natural-laminar flow wing and fuselage nose and an all-composite fuselage structure.

Fujino said the patented wing-mounted engines were one of the keys to the jet's superior spped, fuel efficiency and cabin space. "I am glad I no longer need to use the word 'experimental' when describing the HondaJet," Fujino said, adding that he was thrilled to give the world his "daughter."

Honda's goal is to complete certification in around 3-4 years, followed by the start of production in the USA.

[Yo-Yo]

The over the wing configuration removes the engines from the airstream around the wings permitting laminar flow.

I would think that pylon mounting from the fuselage, like every other small business twinjet on the market, would allow for even cleaner laminar wing airflow, with no support strut interfering with a clean wing.

But the explaination that a fuselage carry through box structure is not necessary, giving more cabin space sounds more plausable, and for a small jet like this is actually very clever.

[edzo4]

could also reduce cabin noise as the engine is not mounted directly on the fuselage

[RandallFlagg]

When are they gonna make the DN-01's?

[Mamzelle]

Maybe the Eclipse is the one I read about--supposedly the new "jet taxi"--but the mileage I ref'd was in re the $5-7M category.

[PsyOp]

Hot Rods & Custom Stuff Humor Dept.

[snowsislander]

I read of light jets a year or so ago that were getting closer to $1M--at that point, there will be the opportunity to buy shares. Wonder how much this Honda will cost when marketed? A few years back the cheapest small jet was about $5M, I believe.

In the thread last year on the HondaJet, I posted that I found a price of roughly $1 million to $3 million:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1467663/posts#20

but I don't know if that original pricing still holds.

To see that, please follow the Bloomberg link in posting #20, which reads at the end of the piece:

Honda plans to sell the aircraft for between 100 million yen ($899,000) and 300 million yen each, the Asahi newspaper said earlier today, without saying where it obtained the information.

[Paleo Conservative]

Could someone explain that to me? It appears from the video that the engines could have been located in the same spot relative to the fuselage with a conventional fuselage strut mount.

I think I've read about a an aero dynamic effect that improves the short field runway performance of a wing by mounting the engines above the wings. It increases the airflow above the wing.

If you want on or off my aerospace ping list, please contact me by Freep mail.

[patton]

I owned one of the early Honda cars - while I like honda, and I believe in their products, they are not good at transitions.

Todays Honda generators are excellent, their cars are masterpieces of engineering, their motorcycles are the most reliable on the road.

But the first car they made was a piece of CR@P.

I will wait ten years after they roll it out, then think about it.

[Lexinom]

LOL (or, ROR)!!!

[phantomworker]

Honda does some amazing things with technology. They mastered placing the cg on these guys. Not too sure that their quality matches Toyota though.

Dancing Robots

[phantomworker]

That's a cute little guy.

[Delta 21]

EXACTLY! Who is the keeper of the Flying Car Ping List?

[Prophet in the wilderness]

Kinda reminds me of how the A-10-A engines are placed ( even though it's engines are placed near the vertical stabilizer ).

[untrained skeptic]

I wonder where they will manufacture them for sale in the US market?

Honda already has auto plants in Ohio, and Ohio has a solid foundation in the aviation business.

We could definitely use more industrial jobs here with GM, Delphi, and their union labor driving themselves out of business.

[Yo-Yo]

Yes, that was the concept behind the YC-14, blowing exhaust over the top of the wings to increase lift. The HondaJet's engines are not placed properly for this effect however.

But I think the explanation that a carry through spar isn't needed in the rear fuselage resulting in more usable cabin space is the real reason. More cabin space in a smaller overall fuselage than other bizjets.

I did read an interesting tidbit yesterday while surfing the HondaJet, in that they had to carefully balance the natural flutter frequency of the wing with the flutter frequency of the pylon mounted engine, to make sure the two didn't become in sync, causing a catastrophic wing flutter in flight.

I'll wait for the Jetson car that folds into a briefcase.

[Psycho_Bunny]

I'm hoping the programmers that embedded the non-HDTV video stream in the web page - and labeled it "HDTV" - aren't the same programmers who wrote the avionics code.

[Paleo Conservative]

I did read an interesting tidbit yesterday while surfing the HondaJet, in that they had to carefully balance the natural flutter frequency of the wing with the flutter frequency of the pylon mounted engine, to make sure the two didn't become in sync, causing a catastrophic wing flutter in flight.

That could ruin your whole day. Back in the 1950's there was a Braniff Lockheed Electra that crashed due to that cause on a flight from Houston to Dallas. It killed lots of prominent people in the oil business.

[RetiredSWO]

Maintenance and fuel are real bears. I believe they can burn over 150 Gallons per hour.

Actually over 400 kts at only 150 gals is pretty good.
Maintenance costs will decrease if more of the jets are sold.
More small businesses will buy them if the price is around $1M
However, the placement of the engines is kinda strange...

I am now trying to figure out how to convince
my better half we have to have one

[HamiltonJay]

Well, I'm no expert, but I would think, forcing the air over the wing would create greater lift, and shorten takeoff requirements.

[phantomworker]

"That could ruin your whole day."

Interesting about the flutter being in sync. Resonance like that has shattered many structures. Remember the Tacoma Narrows Bridge?