TOKYO, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Japanese auto maker Honda Motor Co said on Tuesday it had succeeded in test-flying a small business jet in the United States, taking a step towards its long-term goal of entering the aircraft business.
The six-seat HondaJet is the world's first business jet made completely by an auto maker, and is powered by a lightweight, low-emission turbine engine that Honda has been developing since 1999.
Rival Toyota Motor Corp , Japan's biggest auto maker, also grabbed headlines last year by making its first test run of a prototype aircraft, but the plane's engine came from a different manufacturer.
Developing aircraft has been one of Honda's goals for the past four decades, and a dream held by its late, legendary founder Soichiro Honda. The auto maker had been aiming to complete initial test flights by December 17, the centennial of the Wright brothers' first sustained, controlled flight.
"We've taken the first step towards our future dream of turning this into a business," a Honda spokesman said, adding it had no concrete plans for commercialisation yet.
Honda, which started off building motorcycles and began researching small business jets in 1986, said the HondaJet offered at least 40 percent better fuel efficiency and more cabin space than existing jets of the same class.
The 12.5-metre (41-foot) long jet has a flight range of 2,037 kilometres (1,100 nm), and can cruise at a maximum speed of 778 km/h, or 420 knots. It can seat up to six, including the pilot.
Earlier this year, Honda announced separate plans to look into the possibility of selling a next-generation piston aviation engine that it has been developing since 2000, with partner Teledyne Continental Motors Inc, a unit of U.S. electronic components maker Teledyne Technologies Inc .
Entry into the aviation business could present big opportunities for Honda, which says its piston aviation engine is superior to those currently available, in terms of weight, fuel efficiency, power output and emissions.
The U.S. small aircraft market is the biggest in the world, with demand for engines for such aircraft estimated at 10,000 units a year.