Honda says FAA certification of HondaJet ‘few months away’

Honda Aircraft Co. said it’s a few months away from Federal Aviation Administration certification of the HondaJet, a new entrant into the light end of the business jet market and a new competitor for Wichita’s Textron Aviation and Bombardier Learjet.

The Greensboro, N.C.-based company that is a subsidiary of American Honda Motor Co. said it has received provisional type certification from the FAA, which marks that final certification is near.

“Provisional type certification for the HondaJet is a tremendous milestone for the program, and we are pleased to reach this significant step toward customer deliveries and entry into service,” Michimasa Fujino, Honda Aircraft president and CEO, said in a news release.

The company said its final assembly line is full with 12 HondaJets and another five are in production flow. It said it will begin first deliveries after final FAA type certification is completed.

Four HondaJets in the flight test program have flown more than 2,500 hours, the company said.

This story was originally published March 30, 2015 at 8:43 AM with the headline "Honda says FAA certification of HondaJet ‘few months away’."