Honda Aircraft Co. breaks ground on wing production facility

Honda Aircraft Co. celebrated its most recent expansion in a groundbreaking ceremony at a new facility will allow for more HondaJet Elite wings to be assembled concurrently for increased production efficiency. This expansion will also add additional storage for service parts for the growing fleet of HondaJets around the globe.

Expected to be completed by July 2020, the latest expansion is a $15.5 million investment in an 83,000ft² facility on Honda Aircraft’s 133+ acre campus in Greensboro, North Carolina. This will bring the company's total capital investment in its North Carolina facilities to more than $245 million.

The July 30, 2019 ceremony’s attendees included members of local, state, and federal government officials, prominent community figures and leaders in the aviation industry. During the event, Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC), Executive Director of the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority Kevin Baker, and Honda Aircraft Co. president and CEO Michimasa Fujino made remarks. The celebration also featured a HondaJet Elite flyover in the skies above the company’s future additional production site.

"The 2007 announcement that Honda Aircraft Co. would make its home in Greensboro helped North Carolina become the second fastest growing aviation cluster in the United States," Gov. Cooper said. “Today’s ceremony is another step in growing the aviation industry in our state.”

Executive Director of the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority Kevin Baker stated, “On behalf of Authority Chairman Steve Showfety, other board members, and the staff of the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority, thank you to Mr. Fujino and the entire Honda Aircraft Co. team for your continued innovation, partnership, and commitment to this airport, this region, and this state." 

Honda Aircraft Co. President and CEO Michimasa Fujino said, “When I founded Honda Aircraft Co., our mission was to add new value to the industry and introduce a new lifestyle with the HondaJet around the globe. With our community’s support, we have achieved this as HondaJets are improving the lives of our customers throughout the world. The relationships we have with all of you have been instrumental to our progress and success as a company. Thank you.”

Certified for single pilot operation, the HondaJet Elite incorporates Honda Aircraft's unique Over-The-Wing Engine Mount (OTWEM) configuration, Natural Laminar Flow (NLF) nose and wing, and composite fuselage. The Elite cabin features a full-service galley, a private lavatory with optional belted seat, and an exclusive Bongiovi sound system. An ergonomically designed cockpit has an enhanced customized Garmin G3000 avionics suite. The HondaJet Elite is more fuel efficient and emits less greenhouse gases than similarly sized twin-engine business jets.