Honda has a new upgrade package available for the HondaJet Elite. (Honda Aircraft Company)
Honda Aircraft Co. is making the avionics hardware and software available as line-fit on its HondaJet Elite S now available for its HondaJet Elite model, according to an Oct. 10 announcement from the North Carolina-based manufacturer.
The avionics upgrades are part of a broader package now available for Elite jets that will increase the aircraft’s maximum take-off weight by 200 pounds, while also extending its range by up to 120 nautical miles. Developed by Honda’s Advanced Performance Modification Group, the avionics software upgrades include the installation of “FAA Datacomm and ACARS, which replace traditional voice commands with text-based messaging to improve the clarity and efficiency of communications.”
COM3 is also available to Elite operators as part of the avionics upgrade package. Honda describes COM3 as a functionality that allows operators to disable the data link mode of the aircraft’s radio and “use it as a 3rd VHF, to increase dispatch reliability.” Using COM3 in this way is a function that becomes enabled with the selection of FAA and ACARS.
All three elements of the avionics upgrade package are standard features of the version of the Garmin G3000 avionics suite featured on the HondaJet Elite S, which was first unveiled by Honda in May 2021. The standard HA-420 HondaJet received its first certification from the FAA and began delivery in late 2015. The Elite upgrade received FAA and EASA type certification and began delivery in the U.S. and Europe in 2018.
Additionally, the newly introduced Advanced Steering Augmentation System (ASAS) will enable “increased crosswind operational capability,” according to Honda Aircraft Co.
Amod Kelkar, Honda Aircraft Company Head of Commercial Business Unit and VP of Customer Service, commenting on the upgrade package, describes it as “another testament of our continued efforts in Customer Service to provide upgrade options to our ever-growing fleet.”