Honda Aircraft Company has become the first twin-turbine very light business jet manufacturer to utilize the HondaJet on a successful test flight running a 100% blend of SAF. A production-model HondaJet was fueled with a mix of Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene (HEFA-SPK) and Hydrodeoxygenated Synthetic Aromatic Kerosene (HDO-SAK) fuels and flew over the Greensboro area before successfully landing at the company’s world headquarters at Piedmont Triad International Airport.
This test flight represents the culmination of significant efforts made by a Honda Aircraft Company engineering team, in cooperation with GE Honda Aero, a joint venture between General Electric and Honda responsible for the design of the HF120 engines equipped on the HondaJet. Under the joint venture, Honda Aero, Inc. produces the engine in Burlington, NC. HondaJet aircraft currently in service have been operated by customers on approved SAF blends of up to 50%. GE Honda Aero successfully completed tests of the HF120 engine on the ground utilizing 100% SAF fuel blends in 2022 and 2023, providing an early demonstration of the feasibility of the HondaJet’s recent test flight.
Amod Kelkar, Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at Honda Aircraft Company commented: “We are immensely proud of our Honda Aircraft Company engineering team carrying forward our commitment to the future of aviation by demonstrating that the HondaJet is capable of operating on a 100% SAF blend. This achievement is a step toward aligning our business activities with the global Honda goal of decarbonizing our business activities by 2050.”
The unique engineering of the HondaJet airframe has enabled it to hold status for the last ten years as the most efficient jet in its class. The HondaJet design focused on maintaining laminar flow across the aircraft, which offers up to a 20% improvement in fuel economy over comparable aircraft. Honda Aircraft Company was awarded Sustainable Flight Department Accreditation from the National Business Aviation Association in October 2024.
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