本田将于 2026 年初试飞首架全尺寸 AAM eVTOL 原型机

Story By Charlotte Bailey • Writer
ainonline.com

Following more than 400 flights of its third-scale demonstrator, Honda is planning to fly its first full-scale AAM eVTOL prototype in March 2026, with the build of the inaugural aircraft expected to be completed by the end of this year. The company hopes to have an FAA type certificate in hand by the early 2030s.

Although Honda has been relatively secretive about its upcoming AAM eVTOL since announcing the program in 2021, the company’s inaugural presence at the Dubai Airshow is “good timing for us to showcase the progress of our research,” said Honda AAM eVTOL vice president and executive chief engineer Susumu Mashio.

Joking that the company has been in so-called “stealth mode” for the last few years, Mashio explained that Honda hasn’t felt the need to “proactively announce [its progress] to the public in a very immature state.” However, the company “is now confident [its] technology is here.”

Honda plans to finish building its inaugural full-scale eVTOL prototype by the end of this year and to conduct the first flight in March 2026. © David McIntosh/AIN

A one-third-scale technology demonstrator on display at the Dubai Airshow has been conducting a flight test campaign in California, augmenting learnings gleaned from wind tunnel testing. “This vehicle is specifically for the flight control verification,” Mashio explained. Flight profiles include forward and hovering elements, although the demonstrator has yet to complete a full transition from hover to cruise. “Because of the limitations of the vehicle, we’re confident we can achieve this transition in [the] full-scale aircraft,” he added.

The upcoming test vehicle will be remotely piloted and is set to commence flight testing in the U.S. around March 2026. Notably, the design of both the subscale demonstrator and the fuselage mockup on display has moved away from the more elliptical fuselage profiles of earlier visualizations and now includes a constant cross-section.

“It’s still in the design process, and we’re discussing which [final shape] is the right one for us,” confirmed Mashio. “It’s the combination of the design of the cabin, the aerodynamics, and also the other structural components of the vehicle that all have to come together.” The supplier list has not yet been finalized, but Honda is “watching the market,” he said.

While other competitors in the AAM eVTOL space are increasingly looking toward hybrid powertrains for their own aircraft, Honda is a notable exception, as its AAM eVTOL was intended to be hybrid-electric from the outset. “We are an automobile company; we know the battery technologies,” said Mashio. “When we decided to start this project, we knew that battery technology might not be there as much as we had hoped.” Although Honda wouldn’t rule out a future fully-electric aircraft variant in line with battery maturation, “for the time being, I think the hybrid systems are practical,” he said.

A hybrid-electric powertrain also presents additional FAA certification challenges, as no such aircraft has been certified so far. However, Honda is able to leverage its heritage of the HondaJet to inform lessons of critical redundancy, safety, and certification challenges from early on in its AAM eVTOL research phase. Ultimately, the company appears not to be rushing to be among the first to commercialize its product, although conversations are ongoing with potential operators. “We need to first decide what kind of real benefit we can offer to the potential customers—that’s something we need to identify before we can make a decision to go to market,” Mashio concluded.

...来自 SP 的说明

关于作者

EVHNews

全球电动混合动力汽车、电动航空、电动船舶技术及未来创新电动混合动力 VTOL 航空航天技术新闻！

EVHNews.com 是 EVVTOL 的全球数字技术平台。EVVTOL 是全球电动汽车/混合动力汽车、电子航空、E-VTOL、E-Marine 未来技术行业展示和展览活动组织机构，全球最大的电动汽车和 E-VTOL 品牌在此投资未来交通。

EV H News 致力于电动汽车和电动混合动力汽车、电动航空、电动直升机、电动船舶、电动交通、电动半导体和电动卡车等行业。
这个数字平台将包括来自全球行业领导者的评论和资源，其中许多侧重于清洁蓝色技术和替代燃料（如适用）。EVH 新闻平台让所有人都能获得未来电子汽车、电子航空、电子海运、电子摩托车、电子半导体和电子卡车等行业突破性电子技术的工具和信息。

关于 EVVTOL

- EVVTOL 是一家新公司，其品牌定位是全球最具影响力的未来技术展/博览会活动组织，其战略定位是成功满足电动汽车和 VTOL 运输行业客户的需求！

- EVVTOL 的目标是展示电动汽车和 VTOL 行业，并通过发布和展示尖端电动汽车和 E-VTOL 技术，介绍电动汽车和 VTOL 领域的主要车辆和零部件制造商。

- EVVTOL 的使命是推出多个技术展和博览会，包括有影响力的高级别电动汽车商业峰会，这些峰会以与电动汽车和电动交通行业、能源汽车信息技术和充电基础设施行业的主要制造商进行商业接触这两个主题为基础。这些活动是了解和讨论电动汽车和 VTOL 行业未来最新交通技术进步以及电池能源挑战的绝佳机会。

(evvtol.org) 877-4EV-VTOL (877-438-8865)

查看作者的帖子

EVHNews

全球电动混合动力汽车、电动航空、电动船舶技术及未来创新电动混合动力 VTOL 航空航天技术新闻！ EVHNews.com 是 EVVTOL 的全球数字技术平台。EVVTOL 是全球电动汽车/混合动力汽车、电动航空、电动 VTOL、电动船舶未来技术行业展示和展览活动组织机构，全球最大的电动汽车和电动 VTOL 品牌在此投资未来交通。 EV H News 致力于电动汽车和电动混合动力汽车、电动航空、电动飞行器、电动船舶等行业，包括电动交通、电动半导体和电动卡车。 这个数字平台将包括来自全球行业领导者的评论和资源，其中许多侧重于清洁蓝色技术和替代燃料（如适用）。EVH 新闻平台让所有人都能获得工具和信息，了解未来电子汽车、电子航空、电子海运、电子摩托车、电子半导体和电子卡车等电子运动行业的突破性电子技术。 关于 EVVTOL - EVVTOL 是一家新公司，以最具影响力的全球未来技术展/博览活动组织为品牌，其战略定位是成功满足电动汽车和 VTOL 运输行业客户的需求！ - EVVTOL 的目标是展示电动汽车和 VTOL 行业，并通过揭幕和展示最先进的电动汽车和 E-VTOL 技术，介绍电动汽车和 VTOL 的主要车辆和零部件制造商。 - EVVTOL 的使命是推出多个技术展和博览会，包括有影响力的高级别电动汽车商业峰会，这些峰会以与电动汽车和电动交通行业、能源汽车信息技术和充电基础设施行业的主要制造商进行商业接触为双重主题。这些活动是了解和讨论电动汽车和 VTOL 行业未来最新交通技术进步以及电池能源挑战的绝佳机会。 (evvtol.org) 877-4EV-VTOL (877-438-8865)

查看完整生平