‘The new HondaJet will be the Civic of the sky.’ A bold statement, but that’s how this radical new aircraft’s designer pitched his idea to Honda’s executives.
‘Raise the sail with your stronger hand’
A private jet will never be quite as affordable as a Honda Civic or the iconic C90 scooter – expect a price tag of around £3 million. But the HondaJet will have the same impact on the world of personal jets as the Civic and the C90 had on cars and motorcycles, and it borrows their principles to do so. And for Michimasa Fujino, the first deliveries of the HondaJet later this year will be the culmination of a 30-year odyssey.
HondaJet was dreamed up by Michimasa Fujino
Light-bulb moment
Fujino-san, now 54, joined Honda from university aged 24 as an automotive engineer. He soon found himself leading Honda’s efforts to create a revolutionary small-business jet.
The ground-breaking design of the HondaJet, with its engines mounted over the wings on the fuselage, came to him as he lay in bed one night. The only paper to hand was a calendar on the wall: he tore a month off, turned it over, and sketched his idea on the back.
It’s a long way from that first hurried sketch to the glistening new $120m factory in North Carolina, over which Fujino-san now presides as CEO of the new Honda Aircraft Company. Production has already started, and he and his 1,300 staff expect to build around 75 HondaJets each year.
Time is money
Order books are bulging. The customers will mainly be businesses that need to send small teams of staff on long trips, often with multiple stops.
Travelling by road to and from distant airports is inefficient, and commercial airlines are prone to delay. Landing at small airfields and leaving as soon as they’re ready can save hours of executives’ valuable time, and means a private jet can be cheaper than using scheduled airlines.
Inside, the HondaJet is only around twice the size of a people-carrier car. It can be flown by one pilot, and in the main cabin there will usually be just four seats. The cabin width is only 1.5 metres, but that still allows for two comfortable seats with an aisle between.
Unlike most rival ‘personal’ jets, the HondaJet will have a proper, private loo; important when its 1,400-mile range and 500mph maximum speed mean you might be aboard for several hours. Both the loo and that range are made possible by Fujino-san’s radical engine-overwing design. It creates 20 per cent more cabin space than rival jets.
Ground-breaking design
The design’s exceptionally low drag combined with Honda’s highly efficient new jet engines makes it around 20 per cent more fuel-efficient, allowing it to travel further. It’s also quieter, and its lightweight aluminium-composite construction helps it fly faster and higher than most rivals: its ‘ceiling’ of 43,000ft is higher than that of most commercial airliners.
The hold offers space for up to 16 travel bags. Instead of the traditional gauges and switches, the cockpit has iPad-style touchscreen controls. And instead of the usual, boring white paint, Fujino-san has designed a range of vivid finishes, some inspired by the flow of air around the fuselage.
So: efficient engines, lightweight construction and aerodynamic range create a fast, clean, refined, spacious and practical vehicle that sets new standards in its class. Sound familiar? The price tag might be a little higher, but the HondaJet’s principles are the same as the Honda Civic’s.
