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GE Honda Jet Engine Launched on Two New Business Jets

October 17, 2006

ORLANDO, Fla. -- At the National Business Aviation Association show here this week, GE Honda Aero Engines has signed business agreements to power two new business jets: the Spectrum "Freedom" and the HondaJet. 

GE Honda Aero Engines, a 50/50 joint company created in 2004 by General Electric Company (GE) and Honda, has been engaged in aggressive development and component testing for its new HF120 jet engine, with the first engine scheduled to run in early 2007. 

Certification for the HF120 production engine is targeted for 2009; the "Freedom" and HondaJet business jets are targeted for entry into service in 2010. 

GE Honda's HF120 engine will be rated at 2,050 pounds of thrust. It is a higher-thrust successor to Honda's original HF118 development engine, which has accumulated more than 4,000 hours of testing on the ground and in-flight. 

"We couldn't be more excited by these two launch aircraft for our new company," said Gary Leonard, president of GE Honda Aero Engines. 

The emergence of small, less expensive business jets creates considerable opportunity for highly reliable and durable jet engines. The GE Honda HF120 durability will be ideally suited for highly utilized aircraft, such as the increasingly popular air taxi. Lightweight, efficient design enables the performance, range and comfort required of the business jet customer. 

GE Honda Aero Engines envisions annual sales of at least 400 aircraft in the thrust class of the HF120 engine.