Honda’s First Production HondaJet Takes Flight

Honda Aircraft were excited to announce that the first production HondaJet made its first flight last week and reported successful checks during the 84-minute flight. In-flight checks included: landing gear operation, flaps and speed brakes, low and high-speed handling and avionics testing of the Garmin G3000 system.

Test pilot Warren Gould reached an altitude of 15,500 feet and 348 ktas and was greeted by more than 1,000 Honda Aircraft employees upon his return.

President and CEO of Honda Aircraft, Michimasa Fujino said, “With this first flight, the HondaJet program has entered the next exciting phase as we prepare for delivery.”

The beautiful new jet, painted in a deep green pearl colour, is the first in a batch of production models that will be available for delivery after FAA certification, which is expected during the first half of 2015. The five-passenger, single pilot jet is capable of a maximum speed of 420 ktas, altitude of 43,000 feet and has a NBAA IFR range of 1,180 nautical miles.