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| Honda said its production line will be able to turn out 80 planes in a year. |
For years people squawked about the roughly $80,000 price of the first-generation Acura NSX, an exotic sports car from Honda Motor Co.’s luxury-car division. Who would pay so much for what is, in the end, “just a Honda?”
Well, how does $4.5 million sound – for what some people call a Civic?
Honda said its aircraft unit has begun production of the HondaJet, a twin-engine light jet aircraft designed for the business and personal-transport market. Some insiders have called the plane the Civic of the skies in part because it incorporates design and manufacturing techniques used to build the company’s Civic economy car.
In flipping the switch on its jet assembly line, Honda is marking another milestone on the way to FAA certification and delivery to customers. The jet, which has a number of unique design features, made its first flight in late 2010 and reached a top speed of 489 mph in testing early the following year.
Back then Honda said it would begin production in 2012 and and deliver the jet to its first customer in the third quarter of the same year. So the company missed the second goal. But in the plane business that’s not necessarily big deal. Other companies developing light jets, including longtime aircraft makers like Piper, Cirrus and others, have postponed or scrapped their small-jet programs.
Source;
http://blogs.wsj.com/drivers-seat/2012/11/04/one-pricey-civic-honda-starts-production-of-4-5-million-airplane/?mod=google_news_blog
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