HondaJet Taking Shape at North Carolina Plant

Honda Aircraft welcomed members of the media to an open house this month at the its new $100 million, 263,000-square-foot production facility in Greensboro, N.C., where the long-planned HondaJet is taking shape. Earlier this year, the first FAA-conforming HondaJet achieved several key performance goals: it reached 43,000-foot maximum altitude; recorded a 3,990-foot-per-minute climb rate; and exceeded a 420-knot maximum speed target by five knots. As engineers and technicians assemble the next flight-test HondaJets, the production facility is being prepared for production ramp-up, which should begin next year. The company plans to start deliveries in the third quarter of 2012 and expects production to reach 70 to 100 jets per year in two to three years. We'll have more on the HondaJet in the next issue of BJT.