GE Honda Aero Engines LLC formed to produce HF118 turbine
engine, other models as well
General Electric Co. and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. have formally
established a new joint venture company, GE Honda Aero Engines LLC,
which is pursuing the launch of Honda’s HF118 turbofan engine
in the light business jet market.
The definitive agreement creating the joint company was signed
Tuesday by David Calhoun, president and CEO of GE Transportation;
and Takeo Fukui, president and CEO of Honda Motor Co. Ltd.; at the
National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) conference in Las
Vegas, Nevada. The two companies had announced a strategic alliance
last February.
The 50/50 joint company is owned by GE Transportation, the
world’s largest manufacturer of jet engines, and Honda Aero,
Inc., a wholly-owned Honda subsidiary established to manage
Honda’s aviation engine business.
The new company will begin operating near year’s end in
Cincinnati (OH), where GE Transportation’s aircraft engine
business is headquartered. The company will work closely with GE
and Honda Aero, Inc. in Reston (VA).
GE Honda Aero Engines is fully engaged in discussions with
airframe manufacturers as potential launch customers, development
of the technology roadmap for engine certification, and
establishment of a manufacturing infrastructure. The
company’s first product, the HF118 engine, will enter service
in the 1,600-pound thrust class. GE Honda Aero Engines will
be responsible for commercial turbofan engines ranging in thrust
from 1,000 to 3,500 pounds.
“Honda has spent several years carefully developing the
HF118 engine,” said Calhoun. “Meanwhile, GE in
recent years has been engaged in jet engine development activities
unprecedented in our history, including the creation of a family of
new engines for regional jets. This allows GE to bring innovative
design and materials technologies to GE Honda Aero
Engines.”
“We are now one step closer to our dream of entering the
aviation business,” said Fukui. “The relationship
between GE and Honda has progressed quickly and smoothly because of
strong mutual trust and the fact that we are both very confident
that this new company will be very successful. This
connection has made it a unique and natural fit to merge our mutual
strengths.”
The emergence of small, less expensive business jets (seating
four to eight passengers), combined with a growing demand for more
flexible business and personal travel, create considerable
opportunity for a highly reliable and durable jet engine to power
them.
Honda and GE envision a future market of approximately 200 or
more of these business jets annually. Small business jet
applications include owner operators and fractional owners, as well
as potential “air taxi” operations. The “air
taxi” business involves micro jets flying passengers on short
stops using the vast number of small airports not serviced by major
airlines.
Gary Leonard of GE Transportation - Aircraft Engines, and
Atsukuni Waragai of Honda Aero, Inc, will jointly lead the new
company. The president will be a GE executive through the
engine’s 1st year in service. Then, a Honda leader
assumes the president role for a three-year period, with the
executive vice president from GE.
The HF118 has run more than 2,400 hours in ground tests and more
than 450 hours in flight tests to demonstrate its reliability, long
maintenance interval, and superb fuel economy.