Contrast this with the way Ford markets and promotes the Mazda
RX8 at OSH. The RX8 was missing from the 2006 OSH Ford pavilion.
Mazda has been inadvertently and unknowingly supplying Wankel
rotary air craft engines to the home built aircraft market
for 30 years.

Paul Lamar

          
    HondaJet Gets Green Light

    The nascent very light jet (VLJ) market got a bit more crowded July
    7 when Honda announced at EAA AirVenture 2006 that it was proceeding
    with its HondaJet. Already 20 years in development, the aircraft is
    expected to earn its FAA type and production certification in three
    to four years, according to Honda.

    As part of its announcement, the company said it was forming a
    business "alliance" with Piper Aircraft. Honda said there were no
    plans to "co-produce" with Piper, but rather to collaborate on sales
    and service and, possibly, engineering. The Japanese company plans
    to create a new American subsidiary to oversee the jet program. In
    2004 Honda and GE Aviation formed a joint venture to develop the
    Honda HF118 turbofan that powers the HondaJet.

    Michimasa Fujino, the leader of the HondaJet project from its
    inception, said his company estimated the total VLJ market at 200
    aircraft per year, though that figure does not take into account any
    fleet sales for the much discussed air taxi network proposals.
    Although such numbers pale in comparison to those of other Honda
    businesses, Satoshi Toshida, senior managing director of Honda Motor
    Co., Ltd., described his as "a mobility company" dedicated to
    "freedom of movement to people everywhere" and that the HondaJet
    furthered that goal in "a new dimension."

    Details on aircraft pricing and performance are to be revealed at
    the NBAA Convention in October, but the company said the aircraft
    would be "affordable" and noted that the prototype, in flight test
    since December 2003, has achieved an altitude of 43,000 feet and a
    speed of 412 knots.

    To be certified under FAR23, HondaJet is a single-pilot,
    six-passenger aircraft featuring a patented over-the-wing
    engine-mount configuration, a natural-laminar flow wing, an
    all-composite fuselage and a digital integrated avionics system with
    a high-resolution, flat-panel display.


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