Popular HondaJet Echelon in South America • Pilot & Airplane
SAO PAULO – Brazilian Honda aircraft vendor Lidar Aviation signed at least thirty letters of intent at the Latin American Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (LABACE) in Sao Paulo for the new HondaJet Echelon, scheduled to fly for the first time in 2026.
The manufacturer says it now has nearly 400 letters of intent for the new business jet. Aim for certification in 2028. To achieve this, strategic supplier agreements have now been concluded with, among others, components maker Airnova and Spirit Aero Systems.
Ahead of the 2021 NBAA Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (NBAA-BACE), the manufacturer has already shown a mock-up in 1:1 scale called the HondaJet 2600 Concept. The manufacturer wanted to get feedback from potential customers, and Volato, an American provider of partially owned business jets, joined the group on this mission during NBAA-BACE.
It was decided to go into commercial jet production by early June 2023. The aircraft can accommodate eleven people in three possible cabin configurations, with a cruising speed of 450 kts (833 km/h) at 2,625 nm (4,862 km) and FL470 (14,326 m). At that flight altitude, the cabin pressure corresponds to an altitude of 2,000 m for ‘single pilot operations’ and a significant fuel reduction of forty percent (compared to comparable jets) and twenty percent less CO2 emissions.
Like the HA-420 Elite S, the Echelon will feature an over-the-wing engine mount (OTWEM), Natural Laminar Flow (NLF) technology, with a fuselage and wings made of carbon fiber.
The manufacturer decided in June 2024 to invest $56 million in the construction of a new factory at Piedmont Triad International Airport. This will provide employment to 280 new employees who will be involved in the construction of the new echelon.
17.62 by 17.29 m long and 4.84 m tall business jet is now being talked about, the cabin will be 7.76 m long and 1.65 m wide with a height of 1.59 m.
So the Echelon becomes a direct competitor to the highly successful Embraer Phenom 300.
