The World’s First All-Composite Business Jet: The Honda MH02

Summary

Honda’s MH02 was a vital step in their aircraft development, influencing the design of their successful HA-420 HondaJet.
The MH02 featured over-wing engines, a high-wing design, and a T-type empennage for exceptional low-speed performance.
Test flights of the MH02 ended in 1996, leading to the completion of the HondaJet by 1999, integrating features of the MH02.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Honda embarked on a visionary research program that laid the foundation for its entry into the aircraft manufacturing industry. One of the first fruits of this endeavor was a six-passenger experimental jet airplane known as the Honda MH02.

Honda collaborated closely with Mississippi State University during the assembly phase to bring the MH02 project to life. This partnership resulted in the birth of the first prototype, designated as type N3079N, in 1992. The information in this article is based on Compositesworld, Honda, and SlashGear.

Testbed for Honda

The MH02’s inaugural flight occurred on March 5th, 1993. Until August 1996, engineers and pilots subjected the aircraft to rigorous testing, accumulating a total of 170 hours of airborne evaluation and data collection.

Flight tests were conducted in order to inform later Honda projects rather than for the pursuit of certification, production, or commercialization of the MH02 itself.

A render of a HondaJet on an airport apron.

Why Is The HondaJet So Popular?

Stylish, efficient, and affordable, with over 250 examples produced.

The MH02’s characteristics

A high-wing orientation characterized the MH02’s design, tilted forward at a 12-degree angle, constituting a quarter of the wing chord. This unconventional layout, along with a T-type empennage, enabled exceptional low-speed performance on the aircraft, helping it safely operate on runways as short as 3,000 feet. It also earned its place in history as the first all-composite small business jet.

Photo: Honda

According to Honda,

“The MH02 has a unique, forward bent, high wing design (12 degree forward angle – 1/4 wing chord) and a T-type empennage. The plane’s superior low-speed performance allows for Pt135 operation on 3,000-feet runways. The MH02 is the first all-composite small business jet, using lightweight carbon fiber reinforced epoxy resins in all the structural elements ranging from main and tail wing cross beams and ribs, to fuselage frame and other outer panels.”

The MH02 was powered by two turbofan engines situated above the main wing roots. This positioning was intended to optimize the aircraft’s performance metrics and overall efficiency, and a variation of over-wing engine placement was later utilized on Honda’s production HondaJets.

Optimal Engine Placement: A Guide To The HondaJet’s Unique Engine Layout

Honda produces its aircraft with its engines over-the-wing.

MH02 Predecessor

The MH02 wasn’t Honda’s first experimental aircraft; it all began with the MH01. Conceived through a collaboration between Honda and the Raspet Flight Research Laboratory of Mississippi State University, the MH01 demonstrated the incorporation of composite materials into a metal aircraft structure using the airframe of a Beechcraft Bonanza.

Notably, the MH01 also utilized Honda’s uncommon over-wing engine.

Design and Performance

Crew: one or two pilots
Capacity: six passengers
Length: 11.25 m (36 ft 11 in)
Wingspan: 11.24 m (36 ft 11 in)
Height: 4.18 m (13 ft 9 in)
Max takeoff weight: 3,600 kg (7,937 lb)
Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D1 turbofan engines
Thrust per engine: 1,200 lbf (5.3 kN) of takeoff thrust

The MH02 experimental jet could accommodate six passengers and was equipped with two Pratt & Whitney JT-15D-1 Turbofan engines, each boasting an impressive engine power of 600 kgf (1,232 lb. st). Standing 11.25 meters long, 11.24 meters wide, and 4.18 meters tall, the MH02 was of modest size. Even so, the aircraft boasted a maximum take-off load capacity of 3,629 kilograms and an estimated maximum speed of 353 knots.

4 Notable Features Of The Honda HA-420 HondaJet

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

Honda’s MH02 project helped to pave the way for Honda’s later commercial entry into the light business jet segment with the introduction of its HA-420 HondaJet. The design of the new jet destined for production began in 1997 and was completed by 1999.

Photo: HondaJet

The HondaJet made its first flight just seven years after the end of MH02’s trials and eventually received its FAA type certificate on December 3rd, 2015, following some 2,500 hours of test flights. The European Aviation Agency (EASA) followed suit with type certification for the jet in May 2016, followed by Japan issuing certification in December 2018.

The HondaJet utilizes features of the MH02, including a composite fuselage and over-the-wing engine mounting.

Estimated maximum speed:	353 knots at 9,144 m altitude
Flight gear:	– Manually operated tabs on subwings, elevators, and rudder. – Main wing with leading slats and triple-slotted trailing flaps.
Landing gear:	Retractable three-point landing gear, with the main gears retracting inward into the fuselage and the front gear retracting forward into the nose.