ORLANDO—Honda Aircraft Co. has introduced the HondaJet Elite II very light jet, an upgraded HondaJet with a longer range, redesigned cabin and automated technologies, such as an autothrottle and optional Garmin’s Emergency Autoland.
“The HondaJet Elite II once again pushes the boundaries of its category on all fronts of performance, comfort and style,” says Hideto Yamasaki, Honda Aircraft Co. president and CEO. “We are also excited to take our aircraft forward on the journey of automation by bringing new technologies to the market next year.”
The aircraft, with a price tag of $6.95 million, will have additional space to carry more fuel, an increased maximum takeoff weight of 11,100 lb., and a range with four passengers of 1,547 nm, a 110 nm increase from 1,437 nm. It also will include ground spoilers to optimize takeoff-and-landing field performance with the increased weight.
The aircraft will now carry 3,100 lbs of fuel up from 2,900.
The Elite II will feature more automation and augmentation, including a customized avionics suite based on Garmin’s G3000. It will also include Stabilized Approach to help the pilot with aural and visual alerts to maintain a stable state on approach and an autothrottle to reduce pilot workload, through the automation of power management based on the desired flight characteristics through all phases of flight.
As an option, the Elite II offers Garmin’s Emergency Autoland, a feature that activates to autonomously control and land the aircraft without human intervention in the event the pilot becomes incapacitated.
The autothrottle feature will be available in the first half of 2023, while Autoland will be available in the second half of 2023.
The Honda Elite II also will feature a redesigned cabin with a choice of two new interior design options— Onyx and Steel—with new surface materials and colors, and a new exterior design choice called the Black Edition.
The Onyx interior is a neutral greige cabin with mid-tone wood accents, while the Steel is a light gray theme with high-contrast marble accents, the company says. The interior will have new aisle flooring with hardwood herringbone and plank patterns, a nose-to-tail acoustic treatment for an enhanced cabin experience, interior LED lighting with a soft indigo nighttime setting, ground illumination on the main entry door and integrated exterior lights.
Optional features include an additional 3 in. of legroom for the crew seat with an extended seat track and sheepskin covers for the pilot seats.
The company has received "overwhelming" customer feedback on the HondaJet 2600 Concept, a light jet announced at the 2021 NBAA-BACE.
The goal was to collect customer feedback and validate market demand.
The aircraft includes the Over-The-Wing Engine Mount configuration, Natural Laminar Flow technology on the wings and fuselage nose and a carbon composite fuselage. The aircraft will hold 11 passengers and have the capability of flying nonstop transcontinental across the U.S. with a range of 2625 nm. It also features a high-speed cruise of 450 kts.
Honda expects to announce more details early next year, officials said Oct. 17.
Editor's Note: The story has been updated with additional information.
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