Honda Jet - 1st public flight

[Raskal]

I saw this plane a few months ago in GSO (miserably hot place). It was doing low passes for a photo shoot. I was surprised at its size...it's friggin tiny!

I also heard that it's an engine testing platform, production is unlikely. Might be interesting though.

 

[crash-proof]

But isn't it odd that they would put so much thought into an airframe when they don't plan to market it? Afterall, why would they care about increasing pax space with engine placement if the airframe isn't going to production? Hmmm...

 

[h25b]

It is an amazingly finished aircraft for no intentions of marketing it...

 

[logjammer]

I saw it at it's one-day debut in Oshkosh. It is larger than the Eclipse. Considerably larger, by VLJ standards anyway.

Oh, it will be marketed, no doubt.

 

[mzaharis]

But isn't it odd that they would put so much thought into an airframe when they don't plan to market it? Afterall, why would they care about increasing pax space with engine placement if the airframe isn't going to production? Hmmm...

It is an amazingly finished aircraft for no intentions of marketing it...

I wonder why?

From this week's Avweb news website (see the link for the full article):

http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archives/avflash/447-full.html#190319

[font=Arial,Helvetica]Carmaker Has A Change Of Heart[/font]

Well, as the old saying goes, everything is for sale and that apparently includes the HondaJet. Days after the (relatively) innovative aircraft went on display at EAA AirVenture, word from Honda's head office is that it might offer a certificated version of the aircraft. First sales "will be in at least two to three years," Honda President Takeo Fukui is quoted as saying by company spokesman Shigeki Endo. Endo said someone at Oshkosh put a deposit on an airplane ... despite Honda's assertions that it wasn't planning to go into the airplane business. The huge amount of attention garnered by the jet, with its wing pylon-mounted engines, may have had something to do with what appears to be a sudden change of heart. The plane always had a crowd around it in Aeroshell Square and it had some pretty stiff competition for the rubberneckers. It shared center stage with GlobalFlyer and SpaceShipOne, and Cessna's new Mustang was only a short walk away.








​

 

[421Driver]

mza beat me to it, I guess I'm eating my words! This weeks Avweb also mentions the Honda piston.

 

[mzaharis]

mza beat me to it, I guess I'm eating my words! This weeks Avweb also mentions the Honda piston.

Well, Honda has been swearing up and down that they weren't going to market it, so I guess they had a lot of people fooled, including me. Of course, a heck of a lot of thought went into that airplane for a mere "technology demonstrator." That should have been a clue.