全部
← Back to Squawk list
GE Honda Secures Long-Awaited HF120 Engine Certification
The General Electric Honda HF120 engine for the HA-420 HondaJet light business aircraft has received FAA Part 33 engine certification, clearing the way for the start of full-scale production. The engine development proved far more arduous than GE or Honda expected. Certification comes nine years after the formation of the joint venture between the engine makers and four years later than originally planned when the program was launched in 2006. Certification for the HF120 production engine was… (www.aviationweek.com) 更多...
Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
Way to go. One step closer!
Good news for Honda, GE, and the Aerospace industry in the Carolinas and beyond!
This is a great example of how government over regulation has choked off the industry and why the aircraft products today, while modernized, are little changed from the 60s and 70s. If giant companies like GE and Honda with their tremendous resources have this much trouble certifying something new, what chance does an upstart have? The thinking that serial number 1 of anything sold must be absolutely perfect is an unattainable dream. The Garrett, now Honeywell, 731 is an example of how the system should work and did work when common sense still existed. It was safe but had the normal teething problems of any new design. The manufacturer though had the sales of hundreds and then thousands of units to help mold the engine into the near bullet proof design it is today. The market will quickly root out a bad idea and just as quickly help one with promise along but today it is not allowed to operate. Bureaucrats, lawyers, and special interests now get involved moving the costs of certification into the stratosphere and manufacturers with any will to survive say "to hell with it." Therefore, they tweak already certified designs and try to sell them as new rather than go through the risk of a new certificate that has lead many to bankruptcy. The goal should always be safety, but 100% safety can only be obtained by grounding the industry, an event that is slowly happening. Its time to put the defibrillator paddles on common sense and move boldly forward again before the ability is lost.
Absolutely! Everytime the FAA says they will make things simpler , they make it worse. A case in point is the ODA. It was supposed to streamline the certification process over DER/DOA. It didn't. They don't trust us to do our job and they don't know how to do theirs. It is all CYA these days.
Very well said!
The first HondaJet order was taken in 2006 for 3.65 million dollars with a delivery date in 2010 - fast forward to today, price is now 4.65 million and they are looking at first HondaJet deliveries 2014, though if you order now - you probably have a 2-3 year wait.
The engine was certified Dec 13, since then their Customer Service Facility received FAA Part 145 certification - and flight testing achieved Type Inspection Authorization TIA certificate (both announced Dec 20) which means FAA pilot will now be involved in the final phase of certification.
The engine was certified Dec 13, since then their Customer Service Facility received FAA Part 145 certification - and flight testing achieved Type Inspection Authorization TIA certificate (both announced Dec 20) which means FAA pilot will now be involved in the final phase of certification.
