Finally... A REAL Surprise (Kinda...) Announcement At NBAA!

Honda Aircraft took the wraps off their new "HondaJet 2600 Concept”, at a special event hosted by Honda Aircraft Company at NBAA 2021. Honda Aircraft displayed a mockup of the HondaJet 2600 Concept to collect customer feedback and validate market demand.

The HondaJet 2600 Concept inherits Honda’s Over-The-Wing Engine Mount (OTWEM) configuration, Natural Laminar Flow (NLF) technology on wings and fuselage nose, and carbon composite fuselage. Through the further refinement of these HondaJet technologies, the HondaJet 2600 Concept will be the world’s first light jet capable of nonstop transcontinental flight across the United States. The aircraft has a quiet and spacious cabin suited for long range travel, can seat for up to 11 occupants, and aims to deliver unparalleled fuel efficiency.

What might it do? The HJ2600 has a range of 2,625 nautical miles, and also features a high speed cruise of 450 knots and a ceiling of 47,000 feet.  It will reportedly offer significantly more passenger space as well as a cabin with greatly reduced vibration compared to conventional light jets, due to the OTWEM configuration. The aircraft also has the tallest cabin height, and offers a cabin altitude of 6,363 feet at its max operating altitude of 47,000 feet. Finally, the aircraft will also offer 3 types of modular and highly customizable cabin configurations.

The HJ2600 may be the first transcontinental jet designed for single-pilot operation, with an advanced cockpit incorporating innovative technologies such as electrification and automated systems, including autothrottle and autobrake, among others. It will offer operational safety by reducing pilot workload through an intuitive interface.

It will also reduce carbon emissions with up to 20% better fuel efficiency than typical light jets, and is expected to be over 40% more fuel efficient than a mid-size jet during a typical mission.

When introducing the HondaJet 2600 Concept mock-up at the 2021 NBAA, Honda Aircraft Company President and CEO Michimasa Fujino stated, “Over the past five years, we introduced the HondaJet Elite, then the Elite S, to further enhance the original HondaJet design. Now, we are validating market demand as we unveil a new aircraft concept in a different segment from the original HondaJet. With the HondaJet 2600 Concept, which enables efficient transcontinental flight, offers new level of cabin comfort and capacity, and dramatically reduces CO2 emissions, we are introducing a new generation of business jets.”

FMI: www.hondajet.com