HondaJet Receives Provisional FAA Certification

Provisional certification from the FAA paves the way for full type certification "in the next few months."

Honda Aircraft eceived provisional certification for the HA-420 HondaJet on March 27 from the FAA. Full certification is expected “in the next few months,” according to the company, “following the completion of final testing and approval by the FAA.”

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By Matt Thurber • Editor-in-Chief

March 27, 2015

Honda Aircraft announced that it received provisional certification for the HA-420 HondaJet today from the FAA. Full certification is expected “in the next few months,” according to the company, “following the completion of final testing and approval by the FAA.” Provisional certification allows an aircraft manufacturer to keep the production line moving, with final-phase manufacturing, including completion activity, continuing on customer aircraft so they can be delivered on schedule.

“Honda Aircraft has completed nearly all of the testing and reports required by the FAA,” said company president and CEO Michimasa Fujino, “and we are very close to achieving final type certification for the world’s most advanced light jet. Provisional type certification for the HondaJet is a tremendous milestone for the program, and we are pleased to reach this significant step toward customer deliveries and entry into service.”

Four design-conforming flight-test HondaJets have logged more than 2,500 flight hours. Twelve HondaJets are on the final assembly line at Honda Aircraft’s Greensboro, N.C. factory and another five “are currently in the production flow,” according to the company. Deliveries are slated to begin following full FAA type certification.

“It is a milestone for a first-time aircraft manufacturer to receive its first type certificate,” said Melvin Taylor, manager of the FAA’s Atlanta Aircraft Certification Office. “This issuance speaks well to the hard work put forward by all the Honda and FAA staff working in a collaborative manner.”

The composite-fuselage, twin-engine HondaJet features a unique over-the-wing engine mount configuration and is powered by the recently FAA-certified GE Honda HF120 turbofan. Avionics are a three-display, touchscreen-controlled Garmin G3000 system. Performance numbers include 420-knot maximum cruise speed, four-occupant NBAA IFR range of 1,180 nm and 43,000-foot maximum cruise altitude. The engine mounting arrangement makes available space for a fully enclosed lavatory and seating for up to seven occupants.