Big News!
Honda Aero To Build HF120
Turbofan At KBUY
Facility...Sweet Home...
North Carolina?
The Tar Heel State suits
Honda just fine. Building on
news earlier this year the
Honda Aircraft Company
selected Piedmont Triad
International Airport (KGSO)
near Greensboro as the site
for production of its
HondaJet VLJ (shown at
center), on Tuesday Honda
Aero, Inc., announced it
will establish its corporate
headquarters and a jet
engine manufacturing plant
in Burlington, NC adjacent
to the Burlington-Alamance
Regional Airport (KBUY).
The new facility will
produce jet engines
developed and marketed by GE
Honda Aero Engines, a joint
venture between GE and Honda
Aero established in 2004 for
the development,
certification and
commercialization of jet
engines in the 1,000 to
3,500 pounds thrust class.
The 102,400-square foot
Honda Aero facility will
consist of 36,000 square
feet of office space, a
58,400-square foot
production plant, and an
8,000-square foot engine
test cell. Production at the
new engine plant will begin
in late 2010 with the
manufacture of the GE Honda
HF120 turbofan engine in the
2,000-pound thrust class.
Honda Aero will employ
approximately 70 associates
when the plant reaches its
initial production plan of
200 engines per year within
about one year of production
startup. The company will
invest approximately $27
million for construction of
the headquarters and
manufacturing facility,
including equipment.
"This is a major step
forward for our company, as
we move to establish the
home of our jet engine
manufacturing operations
here in Burlington," said
Fumitaka Hasegawa, president
and CEO of Honda Aero, Inc.
"Just as our partnership
with GE has created this
class-leading engine, this
facility reflects an
important new partnership
between Honda and North
Carolina."
Honda Aero
representatives say the GE
Honda HF120 boasts a higher
thrust-to-weight ratio,
higher fuel efficiency,
lower emissions and the
quietest operation in its
thrust class. The turbofan
will power two of the newest
products in the business jet
market -- Spectrum
Aeronautical's Freedom
(below) and HondaJet, to be
produced by the Honda
Aircraft Company.
The HF120 is a higher
thrust successor to Honda's
original HF118 prototype
engine, which has
accumulated more than 4,000
hours of testing on the
ground and in-flight.
Honda research on jet
engine technology started in
1986, with development of
the HF118 engine beginning
in the late 1990s. GE-Honda
collaboration on the HF120
began in early 2005. The
first core test of the GE
Honda HF120 was conducted in
early 2007, and full-engine
testing is expected later in
the year.
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Honda Aircraft Breaks Ground On NC
Headquarters
Company Plans To Begin Deliveries In 2010
Honda Aircraft Company broke ground on its
369,000-square-foot headquarters and manufacturing facility
in a ceremony Wednesday at Piedmont Triad International
Airport. The company announced the plan to establish
its world headquarters and jet plant in Greensboro, NC, in
February. The facility will be the center of all activity
related to HondaJet, including type certification, all
sales, marketing and service support activity, as well as
continued research and development activities.
It expects to employ more than 300
associates at its headquarters and manufacturing facilities
once the plant reaches full production, according to the
company. Representatives of Honda, Greensboro,
Winston-Salem and High Point took a turn at the shovel
during the ground-breaking ceremony. "By breaking
ground for this new Honda Aircraft facility today, we take
the next important step in getting HondaJets into the skies
tomorrow," said Michimasa Fujino, president and CEO of Honda
Aircraft.
Greensboro Mayor Keith Holliday said the
day would be "a day to remember." The three Triad cities
contributed to an incentives package offered to Honda to
secure both the headquarters and manufacturing facility.
Total investment for the project is expected to be around
$100 million, according to the NC Business Journal.
Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines said, "The fact that you
see the three cities standing here demonstrates that the
Triad can and does work together for economic development."
Honda plans to begin deliveries of the
jets to customers in 2010. The first phase of construction
which will consist of 219,000 square feet of offices,
research facilities and an airplane hangar is scheduled to
be completed in the spring of 2008.
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The HondaJet is the first
aircraft developed by the Honda
Motor Company that will be made
available to the general aviation
market. The HondaJet made its maiden
flight in December 2003 and was
debuted to the public at the EAA
AirVenture air show in Oshkosh,
Wisconsin, in July 2005. On July 25,
2006, Honda returned to Oshkosh to
announce it would commercialize the
HondaJet, establishing the Honda
Aircraft Company to seek both type
and production certification of the
HondaJet with production to take
place in the United States. The
company will begin taking customer
orders for HondaJet in the fall of
2006 with delivery beginning in 2010
at a price of approximately $3.65
million US. The plan is to build 70
jets per year.
In August 2006 Honda and Piper
Aircraft announced a partnership to
market the HondaJet.
Development
Honda began research into small
sized business jets in the late
1980s, using engines from other
manufacturers. The Honda MH02, an
organic matrix composite prototype,
was fabricated and assembled at
Mississippi State University's
Raspet Flight Research Laboratory in
the late 1980s and early 1990s. This
research led to Honda developing its
own small turbofan jet engine, the
HF120 in 1999. The HF120, which was
developed with GE-Aviation under the
GE Honda partnership, was test-flown
on a Cessna Citation and on a
modified Boeing 727-100. The engine
features a single fan, a two-stage
compressor and a two-stage turbine.
Further design testing on wing shape
and design were done on a Lockheed
T-33 Shooting Star, modified by
AVTEL Services, Inc, and flight
tested at the Mojave Airport. The
HondaJet made its first flight on
December 3, 2003 at the Piedmont
Triad International Airport in
Greensboro, North Carolina, and its
first public presentation was on
July 28, 2005 at EAA's AirVenture
Oshkosh in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Features
Honda decided to go with an
unusual over-the-wing podded engine
configuration, a feature developed
on the Fokker VFW-614 decades
earlier, which allows for more space
within the fuselage and reduction in
drag at higher speeds. The fuselage
itself is made from lightweight
composite materials, while the wings
are made from structurally
reinforced single sheets of
aluminum. The use of a single sheet
allows for a smoother surface than
more conventional methods. Honda
claims that the combination of
lightweight materials, aerodynamics
and the efficient engines gives the
HondaJet a 30-35% higher fuel
efficiency than other similar
aircraft. The aircraft is
equipped with a Garmin G1000 glass
cockpit system (i.e. most of the
cockpit readouts are presented on
flat-panel displays).
Specifications (HA-420 HondaJet)
General characteristics
- Seating: 2 crew, 5
passengers (or 1 crew, 6
passengers)
- Length: 12.7 m (41.7
ft)
- Wingspan: 12.2 m
(39.9 ft)
- Height: 4.1 m (13.2
ft)
- Maximum takeoff weight:
4,173 kg (9,200 lb)
- Powerplant: 2 × 7.43
kN (1670 lbf) GE
Honda HF120 turbofan
Performance
- Maximum speed: 778
km/h (420 kt)
- Range: 2,037 km
(1,100 nm)
- Service ceiling:
12,497 m (41,000 ft)
External links
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