Honda Aircraft Dazzles Greensboro Skyline Flying on 100% SAF
Honda Motor’s aircraft unit has achieved a new milestone in aviation e-mobility by designing one of its models to successfully fly on 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
Honda Aircraft Co. announced that its twin-turbine HondaJet Elite II filled with SAF flew over the Greensboro, North Carolina area before landing at the company’s world headquarters at Piedmont Triad International Airport. The 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).
The test flight represented the combination of efforts made by a Honda Aircraft Co. 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, NC. HondaJet utilizes the Elite II as a light business jet.
“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,” said Amod Kelkar, Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at Honda Aircraft Company. “This achievement is a step toward aligning our business activities with the global Honda goal of decarbonizing our business activities by 2050.”
Currently in service, HondaJet aircraft are operated by customers on approved SAF blends of up to 50%. GE Honda Aero 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.
The HondaJet design focuses 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 (NBAA) in October 2024.
Read EnergyTech's Full Coverage of SAF in Aviation E-Mobility