Honda Aero, Inc. (HAI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Honda Motor Co., Ltd., is headquartered in Burlington, North Carolina at the Burlington - Alamance Regional Airport. The Burlington facility will serve as the primary production location for engines developed and marketed by GE Honda Aero Engines, LLC (a joint venture between Honda Aero and GE), beginning with the GE Honda HF120 turbofan engine. Development of the facility represents a $27 million capital expenditure by Honda, bringing the company's total North American capital investment to more than $9 billion. Production will begin with the GE Honda Aero Engine HF120.
GE Honda HF120 Turbofan History
Honda R&D began research into aircraft jet engine technology at the Wako Research Center in Japan in 1986. Development efforts involved the creation of several prototype engines, including the HFX01 (1995), HFX20 (1996), HF118-1 (2000) and HF118-2 (2002).
The HF118 powered the prototype HondaJet, developed by Honda, on its first flight in December 2003, and in all subsequent flights up to the present time.
July 2004 - Honda Aero, Inc. (HAI), a new Honda subsidiary, was established to manage Honda's aircraft engine activities in the U.S.
October 2004 - Honda Aero, Inc., and GE established GE Honda Aero Engines, LLC, a 50-50 joint venture company responsible for certification, commercialization, establishment of manufacturing infrastructure, and support activities for the GE Honda HF120 turbofan engine and its derivatives in 1,000 to 3,500-pound thrust class.
October 16, 2006 - GE Honda Aero Engines debuted the HF120 engine, a higher thrust successor to the HF118, at the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) convention in Orlando, Florida, announcing that it had secured orders for the engine from Honda Aircraft Company, Inc., maker of the HondaJet advanced light jet; and Spectrum Aeronautical, maker of the Spectrum Freedom business jet.
July 17, 2007 - Honda Aero announced plans to establish its headquarters and jet engine manufacturing facility in Burlington, North Carolina, beginning with production of the GE Honda HF120 turbofan engine.
October 19, 2009 - The first GE Honda HF120 engine has successfully started its initial test run at GE Aviation’s altitude test chamber in Evendale, Ohio, launching the test phase of the program.
May 20, 2013 - GE Honda Aero Engines announced today it is nearing completion of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification testing on its HF120 engine. In the last six months, the HF120 engine successfully completed crosswind testing and the 150-hour block endurance test. The final remaining test, the medium bird ingestion, is scheduled for completion in July. More than 95 percent of the certification documents to the FAA have been submitted with more than 84 percent already approved.
December 13, 2013 - The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) awarded Part 33 certification to GE Honda Aero Engine's HF120 turbofan engine, certifying its airworthiness and setting the stage for the production of this all-new engine. The HF120 engine's airworthiness certification follows an extensive ground and flight test program that involved 13 engines. During its certification program, the HF120 engine accumulated more than 14,000 cycles and 9,000 hours of testing. Assembly is currently under way at GE's facility in Lynn, Mass., which is responsible for initial production. Production will transition to the Honda Aero Inc. facility in Burlington, N.C., next year.
