Honda Aircraft is moving ahead with plans to “commercialize” the HondaJet 2600 concept light jet that it unveiled at NBAA-BACE 2021. Powered by two Williams International FJ44-4C turbofans and with a Garmin G3000 avionics suite, the 2600 will also share the original HA-420 HondaJet’s over-the-wing-engine-mount design. Certification is planned for 2028.
The last design before former Honda Aircraft president and CEO Michimasa Fujino retired in March 2022, the 2600 promises midsize jet comfort, speed, and range in a light jet airframe. Capable of carrying 11 occupants (two pilots and nine passengers or one pilot and 10 passengers), the 2600 will have a maximum cruise speed of 450 knots, ceiling of FL470, and 2,625-nm NBAA IFR range (four passengers, one pilot). Maximum takeoff weight will be around 17,500 pounds.
While the HondaJet HA-420 is powered by the GE Honda Aero HF120 engine adapted from the Honda-designed HF118, Honda Aircraft selected the Williams engine to enable a shorter timeline for development of the 2600. GE Honda Aero had plans to build a family of 3,000- to 4,000-pound-thrust engines based on the 2,050-pound HF120, but those haven’t gelled as no other aircraft manufacturer has opted for a GE Honda engine. There are significant risks in bringing a new airframe to market with new engines, as many OEMs, including Honda Aircraft, have discovered. The prototype HondaJet first flew in 2003 and Honda made the commercialization decision for that model in 2006. FAA certification took place in December 2015; the engine was certified in 2013.
The FJ44-4C develops 3,600 pounds of thrust and powers the Cessna Citation CJ4 and Pilatus PC-24. The other competitor light jet is Embraer’s Phenom 300, which uses the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW500 producing 3,478 pounds of thrust. For the 2600, the FJ44-4C variant will produce 3,550 pounds of thrust.
Like the HA-420, the 2600 will have a Garmin G3000 flight deck with three large displays in the panel and two touchscreen controllers in the center console. Honda Aircraft did reveal that the 2600 will have autothrottles, autobrakes, Honda’s Advanced Steering Augmentation System, and runway overrun awareness and alerting system (this is also featured in the Phenom 300).
Honda Aircraft also entered strategic supplier agreements with Aernnova, which will make aerostructures and components, and Spirit AeroSystems for fuselage manufacturing. Today and tomorrow, Honda Aircraft is hosting suppliers at its Greensboro, North Carolina headquarters to discuss the 2600 program.
When he unveiled the new jet in 2021, Fujino said that with a cabin altitude of 6,363 feet at FL470, the 2600 would feature the same composite fuselage and empennage construction as the HA-420. The 2600’s fuselage will be more oval-shaped, increasing headroom and shoulder space at each seat. The cabin is 62.5 inches high from the dropped aisle to the ceiling and 61 inches wide. It is 4.5 inches taller and one inch wider than the HA-420’s cabin.
The cabin will offer various seating configurations, including two double clubs or a single club seating area and a divan across from two seats. A full-height galley is up front (a smaller galley goes with the single club and divan configurations) and in the back, an enclosed lavatory is larger than the HA-420’s. Adding more light to the cabin are four round skylights (two in the main cabin and two in the lavatory). Honda Aircraft engineers have designed a special mattress that covers two seats for a lie-flat bed, eliminating the need to fold seats down to create a sleep surface.
According to Honda Aircraft, the 2600 will offer 20 percent better fuel efficiency compared with typical light jets, and more than 40 percent better fuel efficiency than medium-sized jets during a "typical" mission.
“The commercialization of our new light jet represents Honda’s next chapter of skyward mobility, which further expands the potential of people’s lives,” said Honda Aircraft president and CEO Hideto Yamasaki. “By building on the expertise behind our technological innovations, we will accelerate the development of the program with sustainability a key element throughout.”