An ancient axiom of aviation is that a company that sets out to design a brand-new airframe and wrap it around a brand-new engine design had better have a vast pool of money, expertise and patience or an excellent team of bankruptcy attorneys. The aircraft-manufacturing world is littered with the remains of companies and concepts that simply could not get through the astronomical combination of variables and issues that must be identified and subsequently solved when absolutely everything is new. With the financial backing of an automotive giant, Honda Aircraft pulled it off, although it took nearly 20 years.
Privately wondering whether Honda’s engine-over-the-wing concept was a marketing gimmick consistent with the T-tail of the 1970s, we approached reviewing the HondaJet with more than a little skepticism. After all, it is going head-to-head with some very capable jets manufactured by a company that’s been building jets for over 60 years (Cessna M2) and one that has the powerful resources of a government behind it (Embraer Phenom 100).