Addressing high demand in the booming Very Light Jet (or “VLJ”) market, Honda Aircraft Company broke ground February 9th on a new 215,000 square foot hangar and office complex which will house all research, product engineering, sales, marketing and service support for the company.

Construction is already underway and the $60 million project is slated for completion by November of this year. The company is replacing their current 32,000 square foot hangar and office complex at PTI airport in Greensboro, North Carolina which has been in operation since 2001.

Details of the development:

• 300 employed “associates” by time new plant is completed
• Plans to deliver HondaJets to customers by 2010
• More than 100 customer orders for the $3.65 million HondaJet since its launch on October 17, 2006.

The focus of the entire operation will be to produce the new HondaJet VLJ as quickly as possible. Here are specs of the new aircraft:

• Twin engine, 6-7 seats
• Max speed of 483 mph
• Range of 1,266 miles
• Max altitude of 41,000 ft
• Projected delivery date is 2010
• Starting price $3.65 million

As speculation persists that VLJs are the wave of the future, industry players such as ATG, Cessna, Excel-Jet, Epic, Embraer and others ramp up their resources to meet production deadlines as quickly as possible. Shorter runway requirements, lower fuel costs and decreased total cost of ownership are just a few of the reasons consumers are excited about the latest wave of progress in the VLJ space.

Read the latest news on HondaJets and other Very Light Jets here.

Photos courtesy of Honda Aircraft Company.