The Civic of the Sky

The HondaJet can fly to all commercial airports, of course, but can also fly into more than 10,000 general aviation centers. By Jason DehartThe Civic of the SkyBy Jason Dehart

Probably nobody outside the field of aeronautical engineering knows what a “natural-laminar flow airfoil” is, but Honda says its first-ever commercial aircraft will benefit from the fuel-efficient design and its turbofan engines – the unique placement of which is another characteristic of the HondaJet.

Most conventional private jets have a pair of engine nacelles situated on pylons attached to the rear of the fuselage. Not so with HondaJet. Years of research by Honda engineers determined that the engines for their jet needed to be mounted on top of the wing. It creates less drag, and according to the sales brochure it “actually outperforms clean-wing designs.”

“The engine placement is the best location for best aerodynamics,” says Flightline President Danny Langston. “It’s the Honda Civic of the sky. One of the fastest aircraft in its class and still fuel-efficient. By taking the engine off the fuselage you open up the interior cabin, making it more spacious and comfortable.”

The range of a HondaJet is 1,180 nautical miles, meaning it can go a long way on a tank of gas. The corporate marketing territory for HondaJet Southeast covers some 359,000 square miles, and covers seven southern states.

“The Southeast territory is just over 800 square miles from its northern border to the southern border and from east to west,” according to Flightline spokesperson Molly Martin Pearce. “From the dealership location in Tallahassee, just about any point in the territory is reachable within 90 minutes of flight time in the HondaJet.”

For business travelers, the destination opportunities are endless, Pearce says. The HondaJet can fly to all commercial airports, of course, but can also fly into more than 10,000 general aviation centers.

“The beauty of the HondaJet is that the businessperson can go to these smaller general aviation airports to get closer to the location of their business activity,” she says. “They can travel on their own schedule and they can make multiple stops in one day and still be home for dinner. I’m pretty sure that in this airline environment, that a trip such as this could not physically be completed in a day when traveling on the airlines.”