Not exactly an auto, but Honda is one of the world's leading automakers so we thought you might be interested in hearing how its foray into aviation is going. Since we first mentioned this effort back in July, it seems things are going quite well, actually. At a convention in Orlando, Florida this week, Honda announced it has already written more than 100 orders for its $3.65 million HondaJet. Sales of its jet just began on October 17 so demand is obviously high, much higher than Honda had expected for three days of sales.
"We are extremely pleased with the early customer response to HondaJet. In addition to the strong demand we have experienced from individuals, we are negotiating with a number of fleet customers as well," said Michimasa Fujino, president & CEO of Honda Aircraft Co., Inc. "Due to this overwhelming response, we are now considering an increase in our production plan to meet the needs of our customers."
Honda Aircraft Company will produce the HondaJet at a facility in the United States, and has submitted its application for type certification of the HondaJet with the Federal Aviation Administration. The HondaJet uses a bunch of revolutionary new technologies, including the over-the-wing engine mount (OTWEM) configuration that allows increased room in the cabin and cargo hold, while reducing aerodynamic drag increasing performance and fuel efficiency. HondaJet should be good for a cruising speed of 420 knots with a range of up to 1180 nautical miles, all while returning 30-35 percent better fuel economy versus other jets of comparable performance. More information about HondaJet including complete specifications is available at www.hondajet.com.
[Source: The Auto Channel]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Ben @ Oct 20th 2006 5:35PM
I think I am going to wait for the AcuraJet.......
Dun dada @ Oct 20th 2006 5:39PM
Yeah I think my gonna hold out for the Type-S version with 520 knots.
I wonder if they'll bring the Type-R version here, ever?
chipuc @ Oct 20th 2006 5:44PM
so in 15 yrs will these be "riced out" by rouge airplane mechanics?
Corey W. @ Oct 20th 2006 5:53PM
Comment#1-3... Ya'll are just wrong!!! ;-)
I've never seen the OTWEM configuration before, definitely have to give credit were credit is due, very innovative design.
Jon @ Oct 20th 2006 6:05PM
GM should put the Cadillac crest(for example) and design theme on some of thier aerospace collaborations.Honda really seems like a cutting edge company on the move.This really increases the appeal of honda products from my perspective.
retsel @ Oct 20th 2006 6:17PM
Ford had a great aircraft once... the Ford trimotor... i am tired of the US losing leadership in everything...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_trimotor
apt34 @ Oct 20th 2006 7:04PM
"This is your captain speaking. We will be hitting VTAK in a few minutes..."
andy @ Oct 20th 2006 10:21PM
makes me feel sorry for the marketing folks at saab.
Andy @ Oct 20th 2006 11:30PM
Funny thing is that Ford back in the 1920s made the same effort with the Tri-Motor. Henry Ford's hope was to build the Model T of the air. It didn't work out that way, but it's funny to see Honda (the Ford of the twenty-first century) make an effort to build an aircraft.
jason @ Oct 20th 2006 11:48PM
saves fuel and increase interior capacity. thats like the civic of airplanes. haha
Hondafan @ Oct 21st 2006 12:16AM
Hey Frank!
Honda might be one of the leading auto manufacturers but it is the SOLE LEADER of engines sold in the world. The addition of planes is yet another example of how a company that specializes in egines is able to build products around these engines. Still can't wait for their new diesel.
dtremit @ Oct 21st 2006 4:04AM
nothing new under the sun, it seems -- there was a west german airliner in the mid-70s that used over-wing engines:
http://www.vfw614.de/index2_e.html
it was a commercial failure, though.
Mike from Scarborough @ Oct 21st 2006 8:20AM
3.65Million? What a rip off.Ther's a company called Microjet,they have a simmilar plane with an ultra quet Pratt & Witney Jet Turbine engines.All for a measly one Million.Honda with a diesel engine? I serriously doubt it will be nearly as good or reliable as the CDI,TDI,Blue tech.It takes many years of testing and proven conditions to improve on engine design.Even Honda's fist passenger car engines weren't that great.Although their small engine technonogy is their best asset.
ramsport47 @ Oct 21st 2006 9:59AM
Auto companies have been trying Aviation for years..Chrysler had Gulfstream for a while - sold alot of planes - not profitable - sold it...Honda will stop soon too. Too much developement cost for the amount they will sell...starting off good, but how many people can affor a $3 mil plus airplane?
Mr. Oak @ Oct 21st 2006 11:52AM
Why would anyone want the headache of owning a jet today is beyond me. In the age of excellent services like ExecuJet and other services, even corporations are moving away from buying private jets. The cost owning a jet doesn't stop at the purchase of the jet. There is maintenance co$t, airport fee$, crew co$t, $torage co$t, in$urance co$t,fuel co$t etc., etc.
The smart way to flying privately, is to sign up with one of these services that allows you to buy blocks of hours, they issue some sort of a debit card, and deducts your trip to Rio or London. you walk off the jet and forget about it, until you need it again.
Another thing, you buy this little 4 or 6 seater, but you need to move 10 or 15 people, you're stuck. Membership with Execujet gives you access to their entire fleet. Renting a private jet to move 15 people is probably more cheaper than paying for them to fly commercially in first class.
http://www.elitejets.com/
http://www.ataexecujet.com/about.html
GT AE '06 @ Oct 21st 2006 2:23PM
What makes the Hondajet so good in this industry is that most executive business jets start at $10 million, and that can go up to $50+ mil when you reach the current Gulfstream flagship (G550). [These numbers are base prices with standard interiors, if you customize the interior you can do enough to double the cost of the aircraft]. So it is under-cutting some its competitors. Granted some of these competing aircraft have far superior range and payload capability... but I remember reading somewhere that a large portion of owners of the GV-class aircraft averaged only 3 hours per flight. This is for a plane that can fly 8 hours or ~7000 nm on a single fuel load. If the majority of the flying you do is domestic, and you're not moving 15 people, and don't care about putting a water bed in your plane ;) , this is a lucrative alternative.
What Mr. Oak said (#15) is dead on as well. NetJets is another company which charters or sells timeshares of bizjets. However, I sincerely doubt the costs of chartering a plane is cheaper. The cost of fuel and crew alone might dwarf the costs of those 1st class seats (for an internation flight at least).
As a student of aerodynamics though, I'd like to see more information about how the "drag is reduced". The interior space is decresed because all of the internal structure used to mount the engines is moved from the fuselage to the wing (at the expense of fuel volume). But less drag? that has to do with a lot of factors... definitely the fuselage drag count went down... but the wing drag count would've increased at a comparable magnitude.
Food for thought =)
DKB_SATX @ Oct 21st 2006 2:37PM
to Mr. Oak's wondering about why someone would buy a jet.. Except for the fact that there are people who want to own things rather than services, you must also consider that the jet services / fractional ownership companies have to buy their jets from someone. The market is out there, albeit a small one. Also, there's been talk for several years of an overall change in the commercial aviation model, with small "air taxi" services in microjets ferrying people on shorter hops and the major airlines sticking to long-haul routes. If that ever happens, it would increase the market for small jets even further.
GT AE '06 @ Oct 21st 2006 2:41PM
Back to cars!
#13: I didn't think diesel's had inherent reliability issues b/c:
1. No ignition system.
2. Since it uses compression as a means to ignite the fuel, its 'overbuilt' for higher compression ratios, so its more stocky.
3. Even though it is built for strong pressures, the pressure gradient in engine cycles is comparatively lower due to the smaller RPM band.
Isn't this why the only 80's Mercedes on the road are 300d's? I thought the only flaws with diesel were dirty fuel (so oil changes are frequent), dirty emissions (see "dirty fuel", and now we have CDI =) ), noisy idle (only a problem for the car guys who don't like listening to your own engine) and perhaps the somewhat muted acceleration (see Audi R10, lol).
FYI: I believe the TDI (VW) powerplant has been removed from the '07 lineup (US readers) b/c it can meet emission regulations.
Toy Yoda @ Oct 21st 2006 4:17PM
Saw an article on this jet in the WSJ about 2 months ago. If you find it, you should read it. It's quite inspirational. The Jet itself was a vision of one Japanese engineer at Honda and he was turned down at almost every step by upper management, after 3 decades of perserverance and hardwork on his own time and money, he was able to convince management to give him a shot.
His mentor was an American aeronautical engineer who taught him the value of extremely hard work and crunching numbers, and who also encouraged him to persevere even when management at Honda had cancelled the project several times. One of the innovations in the jet was the high use of composite material throughout to not only keep the plane's weight down but also to cut costs.
The tragedy of the story is that the Japanese engineer wasn't able to produce the plane in time before his mentor died.
The WSJ article talked about how this plane is poised to take off because it will fill a niche in the airlines industry that's been anticipated for a while, as someone on here already mentioned.
Mike from Scarborough @ Oct 21st 2006 6:52PM
Honda's diesels will not be as good as the fore mentioned.That's what my point was,and a reliable diesel is one that gives you a 400K plus engine life.I Never said diesels in general were not reliable.