Honda Aircraft Company is an aircraft manufacturer headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, responsible for the production of the HondaJet family of aircraft. Originally a secret research project within Honda R&D, Honda Aircraft Company was formed as a wholly owned subsidiary of Honda Motor in August 2006 under the leadership of HondaJet designer Michimasa Fujino. Honda Aircraft Company began delivering aircraft to customers in late 2015, and by the first half of 2017 its HondaJet had become the top-selling twin-engine light business jet. Honda Aircraft has introduced a number of innovations in general aviation (GA) jet aircraft, including an over-wing engine mount, natural laminar flow wings, and carbon composite fuselage. The engine placement in particular overcame the limitations of earlier designs, allowing for reduced wave drag, and increased cabin and baggage space. Honda Aircraft Company was also the first aircraft manufacturer to collaborate with Garmin to develop glass cockpits for GA jet aircraft. In recognition for its contributions to aircraft design and business aviation, Honda Aircraft Company was awarded the AIAA Foundation Award for Excellence in 2018. History Honda’s aircraft research began as a top-secret research project within Honda R&D in 1986. The project was initially just a team of four engineers as Honda built up its aviation division from scratch. Lead designer Michimasa Fujino first developed the concept for the flagship “HondaJet” in 1997, and development began in 2000 when the engineering team relocated to the Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, North Carolina. Until 2005, the HondaJet team operated out of a single hangar, and kept press releases to a minimum. The proof-of-concept HondaJet first flew on December 8, 2003. In 2006, twenty years after the research project began, Honda Aircraft Company was founded as a wholly owned subsidiary of Honda Motor. Honda Aircraft Company’s first aircraft, the HondaJet, introduced a number of technological innovations to business aviation. The most notable is the over-wing engine mount, which improves aerodynamics and allows for a longer, quieter cabin by removing the engines from the wings. Past attempts at over-wing engine placement resulted in unacceptable drag at high speeds. In contrast, the HondaJet’s engines are placed in such a way as to actually reduce drag by combining the airflow around the engine with that over the wing. Honda Aircraft also achieved a natural laminar flow wing design by constructing the HondaJet wing out of a single piece of aluminum, thereby minimizing the