Honda Aircraft has completed contract negotiations with more than half of the vendors supplying airframe and subassemblies and systems for the company's advanced light twin HondaJet.
The news comes as the company begins construction of a $40 million, 20,000m2 (215,000ft2) "world headquarters" at the Piedmont Triad International airport in Greensboro, North Carolina. Honda is spending an additional $20 million on equipment for the 6,300m2 office building and 13,650m2 hangar. Construction is scheduled to be completed in November.
The new headquarters, a focal point for design, certification and support engineering as well as for research and development, sales and support, will later be accompanied by an assembly plant. "We are studying the size of the production facility," says Michimasa Fujino, president and chief executive of Honda Aircraft. Fujino projects a workforce of 300 employees at the facility, manufacturing included.
Assembling the aircraft may involve piecing together components made elsewhere. Fujino earlier this year told Flight International that the technology developed by Honda to co-cure the composite skin panels, frames and stringers for the composite/metal aircraft would be transferred to an outside supplier selected to fabricate fuselages for production.
Except for the metal wing, the aircraft will primarily be built of composites. Fujino says he also plans to perform completions work at the airport.
Fujino says Honda plans to boost its original target production rate of 70 aircraft a year to "a higher number", but would not elaborate. He did reveal, however, that the company will have three test aircraft for the certification phase, with the first conforming model due to make its first flight in the first quarter next year.
Honda reports "well over" 100 orders for the $3.65 million jet since its launch in October, with first deliveries for the type scheduled for 2010.
Source: Flight International
