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HondaJet Achieves Two New Speed Records On East Coast

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A production HondaJet on display at the Henderson Executive Airport in Las Vegas

Today the Honda Aircraft Company announced that the HondaJet has officially set its first two speed records, traveling from courses in Teterboro, New Jersey to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Boston, Massachusetts to Palm Beach, Florida. The records were presented to the company by the United States National Aeronautic Association during the National Business Aviation Association’s (NBAA) Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition in Orlando, Florida.

The HondaJet, the fastest jet in its class, achieved its first record by departing Teterboro Airport at 2:15 pm EST on April 9, 2016, and landing at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport at 4:06 pm. The 960-nautical-mile flight was accomplished in two hours and 51 minutes at a cruising altitude of 43,000 feet, and when the headwind of 60 knots and high temperatures are factored in, the HondaJet achieved an average true air speed of 396 knots (456 mph) and maximum ground speed of 414 knots (478 mph) for this flight.

For the second record, the HondaJet departed New Bedford Regional Airport in Boston at 7:18 am EDT on July 19, 2016 and landed at Florida’s Palm Beach International Airport at 9:16 am. The 1,060-nautical-mile flight took two hours and 58 minutes, and factoring in average 30 knot headwind, the HondaJet achieved an average true air speed of 385 knots and a maximum ground speed of 422 knots (486 mph).

The HondaJet has become the first aircraft in its class to officially achieve the Boston to Palm Beach record.

“We chose several of the busiest business aviation airports with extremely popular routes to demonstrate that the HondaJet will get customers where they need to be faster than any other light jet” said Honda Aircraft President and CEO Michimasa Fujino. “These missions prove just how dramatically HondaJet design innovations like the Over-The-Wing Engine Mount increase performance and fuel efficiency over other light jets.”

The records have already been approved by the US National Aeronautic Association and are pending approval as world records by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale in Switzerland. Peter Kriegler and Glenn Gonzales were the pilots for both record-breaking flights.