Honda announced this morning at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wis., that it will “enter the HondaJet into the growing very light jet market.” According to project leader and vice president of Honda R&D Americas Michimasa Fujino, Honda will establish a new U.S. company to produce the over-the-wing-engine twinjet in the U.S. Honda plans to certify the GE-Honda HF118-powered HondaJet in 2009 or 2010 under FAR Part 23.
Business Aviation
News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.
November 14, 2006 - 8:36am
According to Raytheon’s second-quarter report, released this morning, Raytheon Aircraft posted net quarter sales of $745 million, up 8 percent from $687 million in the second quarter of last year, thanks to more deliveries of new aircraft. The division recorded a quarterly profit of $41 million versus $33 million in the same period last year.
November 14, 2006 - 8:33am
Vern Raburn, president and CEO of Eclipse Aviation, was flanked by some 200 company employees this afternoon at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wis., to announce provisional FAA certification for the Eclipse 500. “We have proved all the naysayers wrong,” he said. This marks the first agency approval for a very light jet, though the current certification is with “significantly reduced avionics functionality,” according to Raburn.
November 14, 2006 - 8:18am
Universal Avionics invites NBAA attendees to help celebrate its 25th anniversary by greeting staff and assessing its new Vision-1 cockpit at Booth No. 235.
November 14, 2006 - 8:17am
Ground-support equipment manufacturer Lektro sold the first of its new AP8350 towbarless tugs to Monticello Air, Napa, Calif., which will use it to tow an Adam A500 piston twin. The AP8350 is designed for sub-10,000-pound airplanes like very light jets, according to Lektro, but not for heavy-duty users like FBOs or large fleet operators.
November 14, 2006 - 8:04am
The new Pratt & Whitney Canada (PWC) PW210S turboshaft engine that will power the Sikorsky S-76D successfully completed its first run on Tuesday, the engine maker announced. Walter Di Bartolomeo, P&WC v-p of engineering, said the run at the company’s Montreal area test facility “represents an important milestone in this development program. The engine ran exceptionally well and met all of our performance expectations.”
November 14, 2006 - 8:02am
Pilatus has sold its first $3.35 million Next Generation PC-12 to a Brazilian operator.
November 14, 2006 - 7:57am
Saint-Gobain Flight Structures is supplying all the nose radomes for the Embraer Phenom 100 and 300, the company announced at a press conference here on Monday. It has supplied radomes for Embraer aircraft for 30 years.
Adam Aircraft also has chosen Saint-Gobain’s radomes for the Adam A700 jet. A radome has been installed in the test aircraft and will be on production models.
November 14, 2006 - 7:55am
Just because an airplane swings a propeller doesn’t mean it can’t be a VLJ. That was the theme Rick Schrameck, chairman and CEO of Aircraft Investor Resources (AIR), emphasized while introducing the single-engine turboprop Epic Dynasty, currently in development, here at the NBAA Convention on Monday.
November 14, 2006 - 7:34am
SATSair, the Greenville, N.C. air taxi startup, announced yesterday it has signed a $45 million deal with Cirrus Design Corp. (Booth No. 2957) to add 50 new Cirrus SR22 piston single-engine aircraft to its fleet, with an option to purchase 50 more.
