Honda Aircraft Co. becomes 1st twin-turbine very-light business-jet maker to fly HondaJet on 100% SAF

Photo: Honda Aircraft Co.

Honda Aircraft Co. announced Oct. 13 that it has become the first twin-turbine very-light business-jet manufacturer to utilize the HondaJet on a successful test flight running 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel (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, North Carolina, 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 the Honda Aircraft 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 produces the engine in Burlington, North Carolina.

HondaJet aircraft currently in service have been operated by customers on approved SAF blends of up to 50 percent.

GE Honda Aero successfully completed tests of the HF120 engine on the ground utilizing 100 percent SAF fuel blends in 2022 and 2023, providing an early demonstration of the feasibility of the HondaJet’s recent test flight.

“We are immensely proud of our Honda Aircraft team carrying forward our commitment to the future of aviation by demonstrating that the HondaJet is capable of operating on a 100 percent SAF blend,” said Amod Kelkar, the senior vice president and chief commercial officer at Honda Aircraft.

“This achievement is a step toward aligning our business activities with the global Honda goal of decarbonizing our business activities by 2050,” Kelkar added.

The unique engineering of the HondaJet airframe has enabled it to hold status for the past 10 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 percent improvement in fuel economy over comparable aircraft.

Honda Aircraft was awarded Sustainable Flight Department Accreditation from the National Business Aviation Association in October 2024.