Honda Aircraft Company has been a manufacturer of light business jets for nearly a decade. Prior to that, it contributed to extensive research projects before eventually bringing light business jet concepts to theprivate aviation market. It entered the industry after over twenty years of design and research.

Initially, Honda R&D Americas began studying small business jets in the late 1980s. It utilized the Mississippi State University Raspet Flight Research Laboratory to fabricate and test the Honda MH01 and MH02. These aircraft were all-composite aircraft using turbofan engines to test various concepts that Honda R&D Americas thought of.

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Flight testing on the MH02 continued for several years until the 1990s. The company founder and lead designer, Michimasa Fujino, began designing a modern HondaJet concept in 1997. After two years, the HondaJet was solidified. The concept was only developed into a commercialized version of the jet after Fujino displayed the aircraft at EAA Oshkosh AirVenture in 2005.

Positive feedback from visitors pushed Honda Aircraft Company to eventually produce the aircraft. After several years of flight testing and refining the small business jet, Honda Aircraft Company introduced the HA-420 HondaJet in 2015.

Photo: Kevin Hackert | Shutterstock

This concept is still reflected in modern Honda jets. One of themost notable design features of the jetis its engine placement. Honda Aircraft Company places each of its two engines above the wing, while common engine placement on business jets places the engines directly attached to the tail cone or back of the fuselage.

However, the engine placement on the modern HondaJet provides many benefits compared to other variations. Let’s take a closer look at how Fujino and Honda Aircraft Company began the design process of the modern HondaJet and at some of the benefits of the engine placement in an over-the-wing configuration.

Brief history of the HA-420 HondaJet

As previously mentioned, theHA-420 HondaJetwas the earliest commercialized jet manufactured by Honda Aircraft Company. The company’s lead designer, Fujino, began designing this aircraft as early as 1997. The design was continuously refined for several years before flying for the first time on December 3rd, 2003. Honda R&D Americas eventually decided to commercialize the jet after a successful visit to EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in 2005. Because of this, Honda Aircraft Company was formed in 2006.

Photo: Honda Aircraft Company

Several years of testing followed the company’s founding. The first FAA-compliant aircraft flew in December 2010. The first production aircraft, the HondaJet, flew several years later, in June 2014. Honda Aircraft Company began manufacturing several aircraft early on. So, when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) awarded the aircraft with its type certification in December 2015, Honda Aircraft Company was prepared to begin delivering the HondaJet.

Newer HondaJet designs

The HA-420 HondaJet was produced for several years. However, Honda saw several opportunities to improve the aircraft and continued to do so. The first major upgrade was the introduction of the HondaJet Elite. This aircraft was certified in May 2018 and began delivering to customers in August 2018. The HondaJet Elite introduced several upgrades to the original HA-420 HondaJet. This includes:

• Increased elevator authority
• Auxiliary fuel tank
• New engine inlet
• Belted seat in the lavatory
• Avionics upgrades

These significant upgrades helped improve the performance specifications of the original jet. For example, the increased elevator authority reduced the aircraft’s takeoff roll by over 500 feet. The auxiliary fuel tank increased the aircraft’s range, and the belted seat option in the lavatory allowed the addition of one more passenger. A new avionics system, the Garmin G3000 flight deck, added takeoff and landing calculations, angle of attack protection, and other improvements to assist the pilot. Overall, the aircraft reached the following specifications:

The aircraft also had a competitive cabin size in the light business jet market. It reached a cabin height of 4.83 feet and a cabin width of 5.00 feet.

Engine design

Each of the variants in the HondaJet family has several upgraded design features. However, there is one major constant that draws customer’s eyes – the engine location. Traditional business jets place their engines at the back of the fuselage; these engines are typically mounted using a pylon attachment that goes into the tailcone structure of the aircraft. However, Honda Aircraft Company utilizes an over-the-wing engine mount (OTWEM).

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Early concepts of the aircraft date back to the late 1990s.

This initial design was completed by the lead HodnaJet designer, Michimasa Fujino. The placement of the engines improved aerodynamics and introduced several other benefits.

Photo: Oleksandr Naumenko | Shutterstock

As previously mentioned, the fuselage-mounted engines require additional structure in the jet’s tailcone. Using OTWEMs, HondaJet increased its space within the fuselage, both for passengers and baggage. Moving the engines further away from the fuselage also improved the sound of the cabin. The loud sound and vibration of the engines were not directly translated into the fuselage, creating a quieter and smoother cabin.

Finally, the OTWEMs improved the aerodynamics of the wing. Air that flows over the wing is combined with the airflow around the engine. This reduces the total air resistance when the aircraft is flying at high speeds, perHonda Aircraft Company. Because of this, the HondaJet can fly faster than similarly sized aircraft.