AIRCRAFT
Honda Aircraft delivered its first HondaJet Elite, serial number 126, in August 2018. Since then, more than 75 of the upgraded, or second generation, HondaJets have entered service in business aviation flight departments, fractional programs, charter operations and owner-flown roles.
The HondaJet HA-420, one of the few truly new business jets--developed over three decades by a new original equipment manufacturer with no previous experience in aviation--by all accounts has achieved positive market acceptance. Now the Elite builds on that success by inclusion of major performance and detail improvements. The most notable of these include:
An increase of maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) from 10,500 to 10,700 lb. This accommodates an additional 104 lb. of fuel, increasing range of the basic-spec (i.e., no options) aircraft by 200 nm with three passengers aboard. Typically equipped with options like speed brakes and an enclosed lavatory with belted potty, adding an average of 200 lb. or more to the aircraft, the range boost can settle out at up to 150 nm. With four passengers aboard, this can equate to a roughly 1,165-nm range.
Aerodynamic modifications to the empennage--specifically 7-in. additional span to the horizontal surfaces for enhanced pitch response and the elimination of vortex generators (VRs) on the undersurface of the stabilizer and the T-strip (“Gurney flap”) on the elevator trailing edge. This reduces V speeds and takeoff distance of the 10,700-lb. MTOW airplane at sea level, ISA by approximately 443 ft. and landing distance by as much as 600 ft. Elimination of aileron fences and gap seals as well as other VRs on the winglets are also part of a general aerodynamic cleanup.
An acoustic treatment of the General Electric/Honda HF120 turbofan nacelle inlets not only eliminates 40 lb. of soundproofing from the Elite’s fuselage but has reduced the already low interior sound levels.
The Garmin 3000 avionics suite--already popular with HondaJet pilots due to its automation features--has been enhanced to include higher-resolution displays, more computing power and a variety of functions to improve situational awareness and further reduce workload.
Among the notable detail upgrades are: A flow monitor adjacent to the fueling port access door on the right side of the aft fuselage that tells the lineperson when fuel quantity reaches 335 gal. in order to reduce flow rate so that the last 17 gal. can be pumped in without overflowing. A common complaint of the HondaJet’s gravity-fed fuel system is the difficulty in tanking up the aircraft to full capacity; the annunciator--a simple, two-light indicator--assists line personnel in that process.
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The nose luggage compartment door strut on the legacy HondaJet--a simple rod secured in a bracket with a pin--has been replaced by a gas-strut, à la the type seen on aft hatches of many SUVs.
A detailed pilot report and evaluation of the Elite by former senior editor Fred George can be found here or on page 50 of the October 2019 issue of BCA.
Legacy Owners Can Upgrade
Honda has not left owners of the legacy HondaJet behind. The OEM offers an upgrade program that adds the Elite’s improvements, bringing the older aircraft pretty much up to its successor’s configuration and enhanced performance. Termed APMG (for Honda Aircraft’s Advanced Performance Modification Group), the upgrade can be installed at Honda’s Greensboro, North Carolina, factory or its network of designated maintenance service centers. A Charleston, West Virginia, medical group, Mountain State Oral and Facial Surgery, which has been operating legacy HondaJet s.n. 101 to transport its maxillofacial surgeons throughout the Eastern U.S., was taking advantage of the APMG upgrade in January when we talked to aviation director Russ McMillan.
“Typically,” he says, “this mod takes about two weeks, but because of the pandemic, the work is taking us about four weeks. The cost of the upgrade is about $280,000, and when timed with one of the required inspection intervals, loss of utilization is minimal. The performance enhancement is rarely expected to help on most of our missions; the biggest benefit for us will come on the back end of ownership when we trade in for a new HondaJet Elite or simply sell it with less time on the market.” HondaJet agreed to lease Mountain State a factory-owned demonstrator while s.n. 101 was at Greensboro for the work. “The lease averages out to a fixed monthly fee of $32,000 and hourly fees totaling about $500, not including fuel,” McMillan explains.
Mountain State bought its HondaJet, built in 2018 but never delivered to its original customer, in June 2020 with zero time on its Hobbs and was logging 25-30 hr. a month on it before committing it to the APMG upgrade. The medical group, which also fields two Cirrus SR22T piston singles, employs four professional pilots including McMillan. “We are a Part 91 operation,” he says. “Our average trip is 300 nm, with direct operating costs for the HondaJet consistently running at $1,400 per hour. This includes fuel and maintenance reserve that utilizes the GE/Honda engine program hourly buy-in [a maintenance service plan]. We do not pay into the [MSPs] that support airframe or parts.”
With one pilot flying the HondaJet, McMillan’s operation can carry five passengers with one in the cockpit and four more in the standard cabin configuration. “Average load going out is three passengers carrying light day bags,” McMillan says. “Passengers have had substantial exposure to other light corporate aircraft and are pleased with the balance of cabin comfort and price point or purchase and direct/indirect operating cost of the HondaJet.”
Dispatch reliability for the med group’s first six months of ownership and 150 hr. of use since purchase was 99%. “The only grounding maintenance issue was resolved within 24 hr. by the factory sending a fully equipped maintenance-support van and two techs from Greensboro to Charleston to replace two tires, McMillan says.
The flight department carries a basic operating weight (BOW) of 10,600 lb. in the HondaJet with a few catering items, medical equipment, one professional pilot and engine/probe covers. “To reduce fuel cost,” McMillan says, “we typically are able to tanker fuel from our home base of KCRW [Yeager Airport], where we buy fuel at preferred pricing.”
He crews the HondaJet with one pilot on most missions. “If we have a long duty day, inclement weather, or are going to some airports in the Northeastern U.S., I’ll crew with two pilots. We train at the only provider, FlightSafety International KGSO [Piedmont Triad International Airport], voluntarily at six-month intervals instead of 12-month intervals to enhance safety. Scheduling of training with FlightSafety is unreasonably difficult because of availability, and it’s comparatively expensive compared to its competitors--$35,000 for 19-day initial and $20,000 for a two-day recurrent. This is a sore spot for most owners.”
Mountain State’s decision to acquire the HondaJet was made after “micro-dissecting comparative data with its closest competitors: acquisition cost, direct operating cost, indirect operating cost, performance that fits our mission needs without under-/over-performing, and confidence in the HondaJet team at the factory after spending a lot of time working with them. We would buy another HondaJet because of all of that and because the machine will perform to the actual data numbers used by HondaJet’s marketing,” says McMillan.
On the deficit side of McMillan’s HondaJet ledger are:
Other than that, Mountain State has only to contend with “the typical maintenance issues that are found on factory-new aircraft during the first 100 hr. of use.” Grading the HondaJet’s systems, McMillan gives electrical and avionics both “eights,” pneumatics and hydraulics “10s,” anti/deicing a “seven” (because of “resetting data in the FMS during landing, when the system is being used, and during use of system flaps requiring that 50 must be used, thus eating runway on landing”), and fuel a “five” (because fueling is painfully slow for the last 100 gal. “due to a design flaw”).
Dana and Cheryl Hunter in front of their HondaJet Elite. Credit: Hunter Landscape
The flight department has had no issues with the GE/Honda engines, “except N1 fan blades notoriously rub the shroud and frequently will catch and break out a small [10- to 20-mm] chunk, requiring an expensive $30,000 repair,” McMillan claims. Buying into the engine protection program at $160 per hour per engine covers the repair. Reportedly, GE and Honda Aero are working on a corrective action plan for the blade-rubbing issue, which other operators have said is rare.
OEM support is “strong,” McMillan emphasizes, “if you factor in that this is a well-funded, but very new, company and they are still developing. It’s always a nice experience working with the factory to address issues or just operational questions, as they are very responsive. This applies equally to airframe, engine and avionics. The OEM is professional and most HondaJet factory folks came from other manufacturers; Southern hospitality is noticeable, and there is always a genuine concern to resolve your issue.”
All in all, the HondaJet is “a strong fit for our missions when balanced against cost,” McMillan says. “From my perspective as a former airline guy flying Boeing widebodies worldwide, the HondaJet is a pleasure to fly and has a few quirks, but if the crew understands the big picture, reasonable exceptions are met on a daily basis.”
The HondaJet’s careful design, good manners, and state-of-the-art automation have made it an attractive choice of entrepreneurial pilots who choose to fly it alone. Listen to Dana Hunter, a landscaping contractor from Southern California. He’s owned three HondaJets, two legacies and an Elite (s.n. 146), which he flies--single pilot--to jobs throughout the Southwest and elsewhere for pleasure. “I love the look, the feel and the sportiness of it,” he says. Rated for multi-engine instrument with type ratings in the Cessna Citation Mustang and HondaJet, Hunter has logged 3,700 hr. total time, 1,700 of them in turbines.
“We did a cross-country trip [from Southern California] to Arizona, then to Houston, and finally to Boca Raton,” Hunter tells BCA. “We’ve done several coast-to-coast trips. West Coast to East Coast we can do with one tech stop at Waco, no sweat; East Coast to West Coast we can do with one stop, if headwinds are less than 80 kt. Going east, we normally cruise at FL 410, but coming west, we have to go to FL 430 for better fuel consumption: 600 pph. ‘Milk runs’ to Arizona take 50 min. and 800 lb. of fuel for the 300-nm trip. All our operations are under Part 91.”
Can an operator fill all the seats in the Elite and expect maximum range? “Every airplane’s performance is a function of weight,” Hunter says. “I am limited to myself and three passengers for max range.” Honda lists still-air range as 1,300 nm based on 2,920 lb. of fuel, Hunter says, “the first hour burning 850 lb. to get up to FL 430 and every hour after that burning 600 pph. Average block-to-block speed is 365 kt. Average BOW we are taking off with is 10,000 lb.”
Hunter’s Elite is full up with maximum seating, including the belted foyer jump-seat and lav potty and four club seats in the cabin, for a total capacity of eight. “The most I’ve carried is six occupants.” The cabin is “super quiet” and comfortable with lots of legroom, he said, “a foot more room than any other jet of its size. If you’re sitting in one of the seats, you can’t put your foot up onto the seat opposite you in the cube. Then there’s the enclosed lav, fully flushable, serviceable from the outside. The entry door is tremendous for a jet this size.”
By mid-January, Hunter had logged 170 hr. total time on his Elite. Inspection intervals for the airframe are 150 hr. for the first and 600 hr. for the second, “which is a long time out for me,” he observes. He expects to average less than 150 hr. a year on the aircraft.
In terms of dispatch reliability, Hunter says, “it’s like an airliner.” Reliability was “excellent” for his previous two HondaJets, although the first one “was early in the cycle and had some development issues.” He claims the only reason he traded his second one for an Elite was because “it had features I liked: The interior was nicer and the fit and finish and quality were better.” But the Garmin 3000-2 avionics suite was the clincher, as it was more integrated into the airplane, a feature he believed reduced single-pilot workload.
As examples of this integration, he cites “preflight calculations such as V-speeds based on the automated input of the METARs, airport information, and balanced field length and second-segment climb gradient. On VNAV, it gives you an indicated fpm for descent gradient, same thing on climb, and it watches your airspeed. In addition, you get an integrated Flight Stream 510 from whatever [electronic] device the owner is using via Bluetooth. Also in flight it gets the ongoing satellite data from the phone and, accordingly, is like an additional screen on the panel.” He says this makes it easier to fly single pilot — “easier than the Mustang or [Piper] Meridian. It does everything and has an integrated checklist you can scroll through using a thumb wheel on the yoke. It tells you whether or not you’re in the envelope.” But to ensure that, Hunter undergoes annual recurrent training through FlightSafety International at the Honda factory and an additional check at Jetstream in Southern California.
Hunter has experienced no problems or maintenance issues with the Elite so far. “When I was at the factory last year for training in August, I had them do some warranty work, very minor stuff including the gear realignment [in accordance with a Honda Service Bulletin], and they did it within the two days I was there. Avionics has worked out great; we did have a little problem with the Flight Stream 510 cards, but when it works, it’s marvelous.”
The airplane’s GE/Honda HF120 engines “are quiet, powerful, start every time, and every one is a cool start,” Hunter says. “There are no issues with them whatsoever. On the Garmin displays there is an indication of oil status, so you don’t ever have to check it manually.” A required 2,500-hr. hot section inspection is required for the engines, followed by a 5,000-hr. TBO.
“We are very happy with it,” Hunter says. “Honda may come up with a bigger airplane to compete with the [Embraer] Phenom, but I’m not sure we’ll need to upgrade in terms of our business.” However, if Honda adds an autoland system to the airplane, it might entice him to trade up. “It’s a blast to fly, like driving a Porsche,” he summarizes.
The Doctor Is Out (Flying)
Dr. Steven Thomas, M.D. is another triple HondaJet owner who flies his Elite solo, although he’s often accompanied in the cockpit by his wife, whom he refers to as his “emergency backup pilot.” Thomas is an orthopedic physician specializing in knee and shoulder surgery who, as well, has nurtured a life-long fascination with technology, engineering and how things work. This ultimately led Thomas and his wife to aviation, dual rotorcraft pilot certificates and a Robinson R44 helicopter. Then came fixed-wing aircraft: a Pilatus PC-12 and three HondaJets--two legacies and, since 2019, a new Elite.
A partner in the Thomas-Bigler Orthopedic Clinic in Las Vegas, Thomas bought his first HondaJet initially for business travel around the U.S. to research ambulatory surgery centers in support of a plan he and his partner had to open clinics in other locations. When they decided instead to expand their current center, the jet became a useful tool for Thomas and his wife to visit their children and grandchildren, who were spread across the U.S. They still often use the aircraft for that purpose, including vacations in which they fill all the seats with daughters and their husbands and kids. In 2020, Thomas logged 300 hr. on the family Elite. He’s flown the airplane all over the contiguous U.S., to the Bahamas, into the Caribbean, and to Canada. All of these operations are carried out under Part 91.
The first legacy HondaJet was traded for a lower-time and better-equipped one, but Thomas eventually decided to trade up from that aircraft to a new Elite (s.n. 165) to take advantage of the type’s improved performance and fuel capacity, the belted lav, and the Garmin 3000-2 avionics suite and the automation features it offers. He normally flies the Elite at a BOW of 7,000 lb. and full fuel of 440 gal., even on short trips, to take advantage of cheap fuel prices at his home field, thus tankering on his missions. He claims he’s done the math for this and that it is cost-effective, given the inflated prices for fuel at many of his destinations.
Among many reasons, Thomas likes the HondaJet because it is easy to fly and reliable. In terms of aircraft systems that make single-pilot operations easier, Thomas cited the HondaJet’s automatic anti-icing system, which he said is a great comfort. Only the engine inlet icing needs the pilot’s attention during icing conditions, he says, and the Garmin 3000-2 avionics display provides an alert from icing probes mounted on both sides of the aircraft’s nose. Thomas adds that he’s noticed that the Elite’s braking system feels stronger and better balanced than that of his legacy HondaJets, with “equitable pressure on each main gear wheel.”
Thomas claims that in the 340 hr. he’s operated the Elite and the 800 hr. he has flown HondaJets, he has never had to cancel a trip due to an airframe, systems, engine, or avionics failure or issue. He is especially impressed with Honda’s support of the aircraft and the OEM’s trend-monitoring program that captured the failure in one case and misbehavior in another of sensors in the aircraft’s GE/Honda engines, the former an oil-pressure sensor and the latter a fuel-pressure sensor. In both cases, the manufacturer replaced the parts gratis; he had the oil pressure sensor replaced at his home field by a mechanic who had undergone maintenance training at the HondaJet factory, and the second one at Cutter Aviation’s Phoenix facility, a factory-designated HondaJet repair station. On a trip to the North Carolina factory for annual recurrent training by FSI, Thomas had the factory attend to some minor fixes and updates still under warranty, and the work was completed in the two days he was there. The physician has special praise for the GE/Honda HF120 turbofans, which he said have been flawless.
He also likes the HondaJet Elite’s cabin, which he says is quiet and comfortable, and praises the enclosed lavatory, “which is very popular with the women in my family.” The flushable toilet is appreciated, too, especially the external servicing valve, which he claims is extremely easy and hygienic to operate.
With the cockpit copilot seat, belted jump-seat, four cabin chairs and the belted lav, Thomas can carry seven of his family members. He praises the HondaJet’s airstair door as simple and well-designed as compared to that of the Cessna Mustang. His only complaint about the cabin has been a persistent accumulation of ice crystals between the panes of the emergency exit window, apparently a seal problem. “I had the window seal replaced twice,” he says, “and haven’t seen further accumulation of the ice crystals after the second fix.”
Airframe, engine and avionics support from all three respective OEMs has been “superb,” Thomas says. He notes that the Elite has a shorter runway takeoff length requirement compared to the legacy HondaJet, which is important in the summer at his home airport.
The only dislikes the doctor could cite are the HondaJet’s relatively high landing speed of 105 kt., its relatively narrow high-pressure tires, and the lack of reverse thrust, which makes him feel unsafe landing on slippery runways in snow country, something he didn’t worry about in his PC-12.
A successful multi-state flooring business combined with a passion for flying led Addison, Texas, couple Michael and Debbi Rasa to ownership of a procession of piston-, turboprop- and jet-powered business aircraft, culminating with a HondaJet Elite in September 2020, the couple’s second HondaJet. Altogether, they’ve owned 10 airplanes, eight of them jets: a Piper PA32, Beech Bonanza and King Airs 90 and 300, Dassault Falcons 10 and 20, Cessna Citations CJ3 and Mustang, and the two HondaJets, a legacy and Elite (SN 190).
“We’ve logged only 75 hr. on it so far due to the pandemic,” says Michael Rasa. “With the classic, we flew 300 hr. a year for a total of 750 hr. on the airframe and engines.” The Elite’s operating cost is running $750/hr. for a combination of business and pleasure flying, of which the latter amounts to 80%. “We have 11 locations in our flooring business distributed among Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana,” he explains. “And we have family all over the country and fly to a number of destinations between the coasts.” The operators’ average flight for business purposes varies between 600-900 nm. “We fly more than we drive,” Debbie Rasa says. She holds a Commercial Pilot Certificate, while Michael is ATP-rated. Both hold multiple type ratings.
“Dispatch reliability for the Elite so far has been a claimed 100%. It was 99% for the legacy,” says Debbie. In their Elite, the Rasas carry a BOW of 7,186 lb. “The Elite’s fuel capacity has increased by 100 lb. to more than 2,950, or about 440 gal.,” Michael points out. “It’s rare that you need to top it that high, depending on the number of passengers on board. With 2,900 lb. on board, it leaves us 614 lb. for passengers and bags. On average, we carry four passengers.”
In terms of “likes,” for Debbie, it is ease of flight; for Michael, it’s reliability. “We can get into the plane, push the battery button and be taxiing in 5 min.,” he says. “The reliability is outstanding--very rarely have we had anything happen. You can climb to FL 430 in 38 min., and once there, it burns 86 gph or 560 lb./hr. It’s the only aircraft in its class that has the closed lav.”
He also likes the automation: “The plane is extraordinarily automated. There are zero runway items on this aircraft. When you rotate, it checks trim to ensure it’s in the right position. When you bring the gear up, it automatically engages the yaw damper and turns off the taxi lights and turns on the recognition lights, then at 18,000 ft. the recog lights go off. It’s all very intuitive.”
“The Elite is what the first plane should have been,” Debbie says.
“It is better because of the upgrades. They tightened up the braking system and listened to what their customers wanted--for example, a belted lav to accommodate an extra passenger, a better sound system and increased luggage capacity. And they widened the tail to reduce the runway takeoff and landing distance.”
As an example of the automation incorporated into the Elite that aids the cockpit, Michael cites the updated Garmin 3000 system, which features a cruise speed control (CSC) for holding speed and altitude. He describes it as “a poor man’s autothrottle that allows you to hold your speed and altitude in level flight and makes it easier to fly the aircraft. You can see the N1 going up or down, but the thrust levers do not move.”
Michael would rate all systems in the aircraft except the fuel system a 10. He gave it a nine, due to the challenges implicit in topping off the tanks (a common complaint on the HondaJet Owners and Pilots Association website). Making it a little easier in the Elite is the new flow-warning indicator next to the fueling port, which he describes as “giving you a white light that says ‘fuel’ and a yellow light that says ‘fuel slowing,’ so the linesman can adjust the flow accordingly. The legacy did not have this. Now that we use that, we have not had any fuel blowback. It shows attention to detail on the part of Honda.”
Since the Rasas had owned an earlier HondaJet model, Michael was able to appreciate the acoustic treatment Honda has applied to the Elite. “It has made the engines even quieter,” he says. “With the power they develop, we climb out at 4,000 fpm--like a rocket ship.”
The Rasas also give high marks to the HondaJet organization. “Everyone we came into contact with we loved,” Debbie says. “They listened and treated us with respect.”
Debbie and Michael Rasa purchased their second HondaJet in September. Credit: Rasa family
Words From the Fleet Leader
If you want to know how the HondaJet holds up under extended use, ask anyone from Jet It. The fractional ownership and charter operation was launched in 2018 by former Honda executives Glenn Gonzales and Vishal Hiremath and organized exclusively around a fleet of HondaJets, currently one legacy aircraft and nine Elites. No business aviation operation can flog aircraft like fractional/charter programs, and Jet It is understandably the HondaJet fleet leader in terms of operating hours accrued.
“Jet It is a shares-based ownership operation carried out under Part 91K with one-tenth to one-half share purchases,” William Collier, vice president, operations of the Greensboro, North Carolina-based company, explains. Jet It is privately owned and not affiliated with Honda Aircraft. “We are operating each aircraft between 800-1,000 hr. a year, averaging 85-90 hr. per month including charters,” he continued. “So we have a Part 135 certificate, as well.” The bulk of the operation is in the Eastern U.S., but it is moving west.
To date, the company has signed more than 60 shareholders. Jet It charges owners $1,600/hr. for operations, and charter customers are charged $4,000/hr. As of mid-January, Jet It was negotiating with Honda Aircraft for 10 more Elites to support its expansion beyond the Eastern U.S. The company employs 32 pilots, with six in the pipeline, and a target of three PICs and one SIC for every aircraft. “By the end of the year, we will have about 80 pilots on line,” Collier said. “We are looking for both Part 91 and 135 experience to service the intimate environment we operate, in which crews have face-to-face contact with the owners. We are a service-oriented company.”
Pilots are trained at FlightSafety International and new hires complete an initial 25-hr. course under Part 91 with lead pilots where they also get company experience in terms of interfacing with customers. Some shareholders are also pilots who only fly under the supervision of company captains. “All [shareholder] flights are with a PIC and SIC; we only operate single-pilot on repositioning flights,” Collier said.
Dispatch reliability for the operation is running “well over 98%,” Collier claims. “We have a minimal number of cancellations as a result of a maintenance issue.” Where AOGs have occurred, Collier says Jet It has received “excellent support from the factory.” The fleet is enrolled in Honda’s Flight Ready program, and the operator coordinates all maintenance through the dealer network, which Collier described as “very responsive.” Honda’s infrastructure “is designed to support the fleet,” he says. “We will have some suggestions for them to make it even better to continue to grow our mutual brands.”
To exploit the Elite’s maximum range and minimize fuel stops, Jet It operates its HondaJets close to MTOW. “The reliability and design and performance are really very good,” Collier says. “We try to forecast the maintenance and plan for it and are not getting a lot of surprises. [The HondaJet] really is designed well and is very, very reliable. We are able to achieve our maintenance planning.”
One area needing improvement was tire wear, Collier says, “so they redesigned the gear and the angle of the camber of the wheels to achieve a more distributed tire wear, as the tires had been wearing on the insides. We also worked with the tire manufacturers for a better-performing tire. We are interested in optimizing the use of the aircraft.”
Jet It’s shareholders like the fit and finish of the interior and charter customers the roominess of the cabin and legroom, Collier relates. “Avionics are excellent--in the worst case, if you get a CAS message, you reboot it. The pilots like it because it is intuitive. All the other systems I would grade as ‘nines.’”
Three Wheels
Debbie and Michael Rasa’s one complaint about the HondaJet is that “It’s not large enough for our full family. We are hopeful that, in the future, Honda will come up with something bigger. If they do that, we will be ecstatic to move into one.” (It’s rumored--and, yes, your mother taught you never to believe in rumors--that Honda Aircraft is working on a larger aircraft, perhaps to compete with Embraer offerings. When we asked a Honda executive if the rumors were true, his response was, “Well, have you seen our factory?” Yes, but only in pictures; however, the point is that capacity has been built into the Honda works to accommodate more than one aircraft production line.)
There is an urban legend that circulates throughout the larger Honda organization--the Japanese multinational conglomerate that manufactures motorcycles, cars, trucks, generators, and now aircraft and jet engines (the latter through Honda Aero Inc., which developed the HF120 in Japan before getting into bed with General Electric to certificate it with the FAA in the U.S.)--that when revered founder Soichiro Honda launched his post-World War II enterprise, he coined a mantra that every succeeding executive and manager took to heart: “First, two wheels, next four wheels, then three wheels.” In other words, “We begin with motorcycles, proceed to automobiles, and finally culminate with [tricycle landing gear] aircraft.” Mr. Honda died in 1991 at age 84, with motorcycles and cars in his portfolio but airplanes only a dream at the time. It took his successors to bring that dream to reality, and judging by the praise of contemporary HondaJet owners, the founder would have been proud.
Last Note: HondaJet Runway Incidents
It should be noted that while the safety record of the aircraft is generally positive, there have been three incidents of runway departures by HondaJets and one accident involving a nose-gear failure that resulted in a successful landing in which the aircraft slid nose-down to a safe stop on the runway. In all four cases, occupants of the involved aircraft were unharmed, and in the runway excursions, the HondaJets received minor damage.
The one occurrence classified as an accident took place on Oct. 7, 2019, at Charleston International Airport (KCHS) when the pilot of approaching HondaJet N166HJ received a warning that the nose gear had not locked into the extended position after a gear extension. Several attempts to lock the nose gear into position were made without success, and the ATP-rated pilot chose to land the aircraft on Runway 3 with only the main gear securely extended. The emergency landing was executed successfully, with the nose of the HondaJet scraping along the runway until the aircraft stopped. The pilot and four passengers exited the aircraft uninjured; later it was determined that the underside of the HondaJet’s nose had scraped completely through the hull, damaging the pressure vessel.
The three runway departures occurred, respectively, July 12, 2017, at Chicago Midway International Airport (KMDW); April 15, 2018, at Atlanta Peachtree DeKalb Airport (KPDK); April 17, 2018, at Harlan Municipal Airport (KHNR), Iowa; and Jan. 1, 2021, at East Texas Regional Airport (KGGG), Longview. In at least two of the cases, weather at the airports was rainy with gusty winds and a lot of water on the runways. In analyzing these incidents, it is important to consider the HondaJet’s 20-kt. crosswind limitation, cited earlier in this report by Russ McMillan and the admission by that highly experienced jet pilot that he had redirected two HondaJet flights from filed destinations due to weather conditions that would have exceeded the crosswind landing limitation.
A factor in at least two of the earlier excursions may have been a brake valve problem ultimately addressed by the FAA in airworthiness directive 2018-06-10 calling for replacement of faulty brake valves and extra attention to braking systems during pilot preflight inspections. The FAA focused on the aircraft’s brake system after reports of “unannunciated asymmetric braking” during runway rollouts. It is worth considering, too, an interview BCA conducted with the pilot of one of the aircraft that experienced a runway departure who essentially blamed himself for attempting a landing in adverse weather on a too-short runway for the prevailing conditions.
