The sky is the limit! And Honda Motors has already announced its plans to accept sales orders in the U.S. for their very first jet, the HondaJet. Honda made the announcement at the Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture 2006.

Honda also announced that they have plans to enter the aviation industry and to build a business alliance with the co-developer of the HondaJet, Piper Aircraft Inc. Honda Motors and Piper Aircraft will work together and collaborate on sales, services, and development in the general aviation business. Complete details on the collaboration of Honda and Piper Aircraft were, however, not included in the announcement.

The first public world debut of the HondaJet took place at the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) AirVenture 2005 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The EEA AirVenture is the largest annual aviation gathering. The HondaJet was built using the latest technology in the aviation development industry, the patented over-the-wing engine-mount configuration, a natural-laminar flow (NLF) wing, fuselage nose, and the advanced all-composite fuselage structure. The said features were the innovative output of a 20-year aviation research of Honda Motors. Some say that the HondaJet was an aircraft version of the Honda Civic.

Satoshi Toshida, Senior Managing Director of Honda Motors said: “Aviation has been an important dream of Honda for more than four decades. Our goal is consistent with the philosophy of other Honda products — to provide convenient and efficient transportation that will make people’s lives better. We are excited now to enter a new dimension of mobility. In Piper we believe we have a partner we can collaborate with in our effort to bring new value to customers in the very light jet market.”

“Honda is a company with a rich heritage of bringing high quality, innovative products to market. This business alliance is a perfect fit given the commitment both Piper and Honda have to providing our respective customers with world-class products and services. Piper is very excited about this alliance and the way it complements our vision for the future,” said James K. Bass, President and CEO of Piper Aircraft, Inc.

The HondaJet’s main specifications include a 7-seater capacity, two GE-Honda HF118 TurboFan engine, and maximum speed of 778 km/hour (420 knots), 12,497 operational ceiling, and a range of 2,037 km. As of the moment, the development of HondaJet by Honda Motors and Piper Aircraft is still ongoing. Moreover, Honda is currently building automotive products such as Honda motorcycles, cars, and other Honda Civic parts in 13 manufacturing plants in the U.S. and other regional subsidiaries.

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In Barcelona, Spain last week Honda F1 team has tested its new aerodynamic design which was in the form of “elephant ears”.

The Honda RA107 which was driven by Christian Klien with its protruding elephant ears on its front nose was following the heels on MacLaren’s nose-straddling front wing. Unfortunately it seems like the elephant ears are not really meant for racing, the Honda F1 team has set the slowest time of the day. The team has finally decided not to push through with their new aerodynamic design since it has done nothing to enhance the performance of their car.

According to Jacky Eeckelaert, engineering director, “The main purpose of our test programme this week was to evaluate different aerodynamic configurations which have been developed in order to improve the braking stability of the car. The braking is definitely better now and the lap times have improved and become more consistent, but there is still a long way to go to bring the team back into contention.”

Honda, second largest auto seller in Japan and maker of high quality accord body kit, has been working really hard to correct the problems of the new car since the start of the season especially in terms of the car’s handling performance.

According to some reports the team is currently working round the clock to develop a new car which would be launch hopefully next month in time for the Canadian Grand Prix.

Although the test didn’t go well for the Honda team it proceeded remarkably for some teams like for instance David Coulthard and Red Bull Racing has been able to grab some attention by posting a new track record with a time of 1:21.066. The quick lap happens during the qualifying simulation wherein the RB3 was running on a minimal amount of fuel just before it hit the circuit.

Pedro de la Rosa of the McLaren’s was 2-10ths back as he tries to test the new front wing of the team’s car which would make its debut at the Spanish Grand Prix in two weeks time. Felipe Massa of the Ferrari team was able to finish with the third fastest time despite a mechanical failure that has interrupted his drive in the morning. And as expected of Ferraris they have finished the week recording the fastest time, three out of the four testing days.

Giancarlo Fisichella, the driver for Renault was the fourth quickest with Robert Kubica completing the top five. The driver for Toyota, Ralf Schumacher finishes as the sixth fastest.

About Honda

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. or Honda for short is a Japanese engineering and engine manufacturer corporation. It is renowned for its automobiles and motorcycles. It has also surpassed Nissan as the second largest distributor of autos in Japan.

Honda also manufactures other products that include trucks, robots, scooters, jet engines, and jets, ATV, electric generators, water craft, lawn and garden equipment, marine engines, as well as aeronautical and other various mobile technologies. The high-end line of cars of Honda is sold under the Acura brand for China and North America. And just recently the company has ventured into the domain of mountain bikes and they have produced the first-of-its-kind bike that makes use of an internal gear changing system in the Honda RN-01 G-cross.

In addition, Honda is also the world’s largest producer of engines, building more than 14 million internal combustion engines each year. It was in the year 2004 when Honda started producing diesel motors that were very silent and does not required the addition of particulate filter to pass the emission standards.

Honda has its base in Tokyo. Its shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange, Tokyo Stock Exchange and exchanges in Osaka, Sapporo, Nagoya, Kyoto, London, Switzerland, Paris, and Fukuoka. Honda has subsidiaries in California and Canada plus it also forms a number of joint ventures around the world which include Honda Siel Cars India Ltd., Dongfeng Honda Automobile Company in China, Hero Honda Motorcycles India Ltd., and Honda Atlas Cars Pakistan.

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With an innovative V twin engine Honda’s engineers produced an engine for the Shadow with two cylinders arranged in a V configuration that considerably reduced vibrations. In previous V twin engines with the angle between the cylinders not at 90 degrees imbalance causes vibration and added weight, complexity and cost is caused by the counterbalances needed to damp these down. Honda overcame this problem by using an offset dual pin crankshaft which achieved a perfectly balanced V twin engine with a narrow angle, the first of its kind. Honda later used this design in the VT500C Shadow and the VT500 Ascot.

The Shadow also had other design innovations including a one way Sprague clutch, designed to stop wheel chatter which was also a problem with previous V twin engines. Three valve cylinder heads and twin plugs, still used by Honda in Shadows produced today, were also introduced with this model of Shadow. Three valves improved fuel flow and reduced emissions are a result of twin plugs. These innovations increased mileage and liquid cooling stabilised the temperature for lower emissions and better performance.

These innovations substantially increased performance giving the Shadow a performance equal to that of motorcycles with at least 50% more displacement.

Honda didn’t stop there however. Other features included hydraulic valve adjusters, electronic ignition, hydraulic clutch and front brake and other features designed for easy maintenance and improved performance. needing only regular oil changes and spark plugs replaced on a regular basis it was one of the easiest motorcycles to maintain in its day.

Innovative and forward thinking design is great but looks are equally important! General opinion is that the Shadow’s looks were also a huge leap forward. During the 1950’s and 1960’s classic American cruiser styles had become increasingly popular and these designs were incorporated into the Shadow from the drawing board rather than slapped on as an extra as other motorcycle manufacturers were doing. This gave a completely integrated style to this cruiser. Design considerations that made the Shadow stand out from the crown include cast wheels, angled muffler, twin seats, backrest and a stylish front end.

The VT500C, introduced in 1983 was available in Black or Candy Wine berry Red. Both the rear fenders and fuel tank were painted, the engine covers were black and the side covers chrome. From 1983 to 1986 a Red and Black Honda Shadow decal with a gold outline was on the side cover. The headlight was rectangular and chrome and there was a single horn.

By 1985 colours available were Candy Glory Red or Black and the headlight was now round. it also had dual horns and a twin seat with an integrated backrest. In this year the engine covers were chrome and the fins were enlarged.

One of the most popular lines ever produced placed Honda at the front of the cruiser movement. Today the Honda Shadow is as popular as it was when it was introduced more than two decades ago.

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