By Tomas Kellner
The HondaJet business jet is one of the newest planes at this year’s EAA AirVentures fly-in extravaganza at Oshkosh, Wis. It was developed by Honda Aircraft, a subsidiary of the Japanese industrial giant primarily known for car and motorcycles.
Right away, the jet captures attention with its unusual over-the-wing jet engine mount. Honda spent the last two decades developing the design. Removing the engines from the fuselage allowed the engineers to build a more spacious cabin, reduce cabin noise and cut fuel consumption.
The plane is powered by a pair of HF120 jet engines jointly developed by GE Aviation and Honda.The engine was certified by the FAA last year and is now in production. With 18.5 inches in diameter and 2,095 pounds of thrust, it is the smallest jet engine in GE’s portfolio. For comparison, GE’s largest engine, the GE90-115B developed for Boeing 777 wide-body planes, can generate 127,900 pounds of thrust. On Tuesday, photographer Adam Senatori got an exclusive access to the plane here in Oshkosh, which has been already sold to a customer.
Images and GIF credits: Adam Senatori/GE Reports