Some of our readers might be surprised to learn that our favorite Japanese automaker, Honda has been involved in building aircraft since it established the Honda Aircraft Company in 2006. That's right, not only does the company have some of the most impressive new vehicles on the roads; it also is making a name for itself in the sky.

Honda Aircraft Company has progressed greatly since its inception. In fact, its latest milestone was the recent test flight of an FAA design-conforming HondaJet F2 aircraft (its third aircraft to conform to these regulations). Honda test flights have included monitoring for takeoff and climb, aircraft handling, landing gear operation, and instrumental and air data system checks.

Michimasa Fujino, President and CEO of the aircraft company explains the importance of these tests, stating, "The first flight of a flight test aircraft is an important milestone for an aircraft certification program, and the fact that we achieved F2's first flight shortly after receiving its engines illustrates our team's preparation and readiness. F2's first flight was the result of extensive planning, hard work and execution by many teams and individuals across our organization and our supply chain partner network. The aircraft's performance is as expected and flying in the aircraft is exhilarating."¹ Fujino also adds, "In 2011, we made major progress on FAA structural component tests and entire aircraft structural tests with the second conforming aircraft, ST1, and we successfully completed all limit load tests for the aircraft structure."² Two additional aircrafts, the F3 and F4 will be tested in 2012.

So, will you be booking a flight on the new Honda airplanes once they are perfected? We here at Roberts Honda, located at 19 Park Lane Downingtown, PA 19335 would consider it, especially since Honda automobiles are so reliable and have such great safety features. We're sure this will carry over to the company's aircraft as well. If you'd like to stay on the ground for now, feel free to stop by and schedule a test drive in a new Honda today. Or, call us at 888-844-2607 for answers to any auto-related questions you might have.

Source: ^1,2http://www.marketwatch.com/story/honda-aircraft-achieves-first-flight-of-third-faa-conforming-hondajet-and-announces-milestone-on-remaining-test-fleet-2011-12-20