HondaJet a reality

Wow, MSNBC is reporting a report that says Honda is going ahead with
the jet later this year:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14025528/



Honda Motor plans to build aircraft
Report: Automaker seeks to enter business-jet market

TOKYO - Honda Motor Co. will enter the aircraft production and sales
business, published reports said Tuesday, amid expectations the
automaker will soon sell small jets its CEO has previously called the
"Honda Civic of the sky."

The Tokyo-based company will start taking orders later this year, Kyodo
News agency reported without elaborating. Kyodo did not identify how it
obtained the information.

Honda officials in Tokyo were not immediately available for comment.

The Wall Street Journal, meanwhile, reported Tuesday that Honda would
soon announce plans to crack America's small business jet market.

The automaker successfully tested the four- to five-passenger
twin-engine Honda Jet, equipped with Honda-designed engines called
HF118, in December 2003.

Honda conducted its first public demonstration flight of the jet at a
2005 air show in Oshkosh, Wis.

The company has said the plane, which chief executive Takeo Fukui has
referred to as the "Honda Civic of the sky," is designed to be more
fuel efficient than conventional small jets and could fly 1,100 miles
before needing to refuel.