Honda’s first business jet has made its first flight, marking
a milestone toward aircraft certification and entry into service in 2015.
Honda said in a statement that the flight by the HondaJet took
place at the company’s world headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina.
“With this first flight,
the HondaJet program has entered the next exciting phase as we prepare for
delivery,” said Honda Aircraft Company President and CEO Michimasa Fujino.
“Today’s celebration is the culmination of extensive
engineering and production efforts, and this is an important achievement in
bringing the world’s most advanced light jet to market.”
During the 84-minute flight, the aircraft climbed to 15,500
feet and reached a speed of 348 Knots True Airspeed.
The crew completed several checks during the flight
including low and high speed handling characteristics, avionics and system
functionality including landing gear, flaps and speed brake operations.
According to AFP, the HondaJet is currently offered for sale
in North America and Europe through the HondaJet dealer network
The jet seats up to five passengers in a standard
configuration, flies at a maximum cruise speed of 777 km/hr and has a maximum
altitude 13,106 metres.
According to Japanese media, it is priced at $4.5 million
and has so far received over 100 orders.
Image:Honda Wieck