Benjamin Zhang
HondaJet and Me!
- The HondaJet entered production in 2015.
- The jet has a range of around 1,400 miles with four passengers and can go from Boston to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida in less than three hours.
- I took a ride in the $4.5 million HondaJet and was impressed by how smooth the flight was and how open the cabin felt.
Honda is a company known for its engineering excellence. It's also a company willing to take its time to get things right. For example, Honda famously spent a decade perfecting its second generation NSX supercar, Business Insider's 2016 Car of the Year.
Naturally, we weren't exactly shocked to learn that the company spent 30 years getting its first private jet off the ground. In 1986, Honda's aviation team led by a young aeronautical engineer named Michimasa Fujino began work on the company's ambitious foray into the aerospace industry. It was one of the final major projects greenlit by company founder and aviation enthusiast Soichiro Honda prior to his death in 1991.
In 2006, the Honda Aircraft Corporation was formed, with Fujino as its CEO, to develop, build, and sell the $4.5 million HondaJet.
"The power of dreams is both the force and the philosophy that guide us at Honda. Now, Honda proudly brings you to the pinnacle of engineering performance- the HondaJet," Fujino wrote on the company's website.
"The HondaJet is the world's most advanced light business jet."
Recently, Business Insider had the opportunity to take a test flight on board of one of Honda's demonstrators at Morristown Airport in New Jersey.
Here's a closer look at our test flight: