Honda Aircraft (Booth 5062) is ramping up production and expanding facilities at its Greensboro, N.C. headquarters as it prepares for certification and first deliveries of the $4.5 million (2010$) HondaJet HA-420 early next year, the company announced yesterday at NBAA 2014. It has also established the Honda Aviation Finance Co. and, as of today, started accepting loan applications from qualified HondaJet customers in the U.S. The first production HondaJet is on display at the Orlando Executive Airport NBAA static display.
The expansion projects will see a 49,968-sq-ft addition to the company’s main headquarters building that will accommodate a HondaJet sales showroom and a dedicated 24,405-sq-ft hangar for aircraft delivery preparation. Both projects at Honda’s campus at the Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro are scheduled for completion in the second half of next year. The $19 million expansion will bring total capital invested in Honda Aircraft’s facilities to approximately $160 million and increase its total square footage to more than 680,000 sq ft.
Meanwhile, the company is ramping up HondaJet production, with 11 aircraft currently on the production line, according to Honda Aircraft president and CEO Machimasa Fujino. HondaJet S/N 12 is “nearing completion,” he said, adding that 50 aircraft are expected to come off the line in the first year of production, rising to between 75 to 80 jets in the second year.
Honda Aircraft is also gearing up for pilot training, with its new training center up and running in Greensboro. A representative from pilot training partner FlightSafety International is now on site at the facility, while the first level-D HondaJet simulator is slated to be installed in the first quarter.
To date, the four flight-test HondaJets have logged more than 2,000 hours and conducted testing at more than 70 locations across the U.S. These tests include minimum control speed on ground (Vmcg) in Kinston, N.C.; high-field operations in Telluride, Colo.; high-elevation field performance in Roswell, N.M.; crosswind landings in Lubbock, Texas; avionics system checks in Wichita; and extreme cold weather testing at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.
