Honda, the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959 has sent to the skies its first business jet ahead of its expected certification and delivery scheduled for next year. The Japanese company in a statement made it known that the 84-minute flight of the first production of HondaJet took place on Friday near the World headquarters of Honda Aircraft, the aviation subsidiary of the automobile giant in Greensboro in the US state of North California.
“With this first flight, the HondaJet programme has entered the next exciting phase as we prepare for delivery. 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” said Michimasa Fujino, Honda Aircraft president and CEO.
The HondaJet is currently offered for sale in North America and Europe through the HondaJet dealer network. It seats up to five passengers in a standard configuration, flies at a maximum cruise speed of 483 miles per hour (777kph) and has a maximum altitude of 43,000 feet (13,106 metres). It is priced at $4.5 million and has received more than 100 orders from businesses and affluent customers.
Honda made its plan to commercialise business jet production known to the public in 2006.
