The 84-minute flight began on Friday near the world headquarters of Honda Aircraft, the aviation subsidiary of the automobile giant, in Greensboro in the US state of North Carolina.
“With this first flight, the HondaJet programme has entered the next exciting phase as we prepare for delivery,” Honda Aircraft president and CEO Michimasa Fujino said in a press release.
“Today’s celebration is the culmination of extensive engineering and production efforts, and this is an important achievement in bringing the world’s most advanced light jet to market.”
The HondaJet is currently on sale in North America and Europe through the HondaJet dealer network, the statement said.
The plane, which seats up to five passengers flies at a maximum cruise speed of 483 miles per hour (777 kph) and has a maximum altitude of 43,000 feet (13,106 metres), the statement added and it is sold at a cost of $4.5 million. The Hondajet has more than 100 orders from businessmen.
