LEt thEm ROaR - Royal Brunei Airlines

most recently, the five-seat hondaJet made its first FAA-certified test flight, achieving a top
speed of 489 miles per hour at 30,000 feet – by far surpassing the CBR sport bike, the Acura
NsX sportscar and honda F1 cars as the fastest thing the company has ever produced!
The hondaJet is immediately recognised for its over-the-wing engine-mount design. This
potentially maximises interior space (without increasing the overall jet size) and increases
the aerodynamic efficiency by 5 percent. honda says this configuration, combined with the
aircraft’s ‘natural-laminar flow’ airfoil and nose design, reduces drag and ground-noise,
improves fuel efficiency, keeps emissions low and out-performs clean-wing designs.
The wings’ key feature and design balances in such a way that the speed of the aircraft has
a range about 40 percent greater than any existing aircraft of this build. The combination of
its lightweight materials, engine layout and aerodynamics only confirms that honda has the
potential and capabilities to create a new model for all future aircraft rather than just the
current field of aircraft jets.
Power is provided by ge honda hF 120 Turbofan engines producing 1,880 lb of thrust
each and inside there’s executive seating for four plus a honda-customised garmin g3000
all-glass avionics system which includes three 14-inch landscape-format displays with dual
touch-screen control. It also employs the first ultra-compact Full Authority digital electronic
Control (FAdeC) system for its class. This provides outstanding efficiency and reliability.
“We are extremely pleased with the strong performance of the FAA-conforming hondaJet
early in the flight test programme,” said michimasa Fujino, honda Aircraft Company President
& Ceo. “our flight tests indicate the aircraft is handling and performing as expected, with
excellent control harmony and stability. The hondaJet’s unique over-the-wing engine mount
configuration and natural laminar-flow leading edge and fuselage nose designs significantly
reduce drag and greatly contribute to such outstanding performance. In addition, the
hondaJet’s hF120 engines are exhibiting carefree handling of thrust and are supporting toplevel
performance and efficiency.”
Presently, honda Aircraft Company, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of honda motor
Company, Ltd., has amassed orders for well over 100 hondaJet advanced light business
jets. scheduled for first delivery in the third quarter of 2012, the us$4.5 million hondaJet is
honda’s first-ever commercial aircraft and lives up to the company’s reputation for dynamic
performance together with superior efficiency.
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