For about 90 seconds on April 1, 2026, a 7,000lb (3,175 kg) aircraft hovered over the grounds of Honda’s research and development center in San Luis Obispo, California. Nobody was on board.
The aircraft is called the F1, Honda’s full-scale electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) prototype, and that short hop was its maiden flight. Honda told the public about it on May 28, 2026, in a post on its X account, almost two months later.
The same post carried a second disclosure. Honda said it has already run more than 400 flight tests with sub-scale prototypes. The company has kept a lower profile than other eVTOL developers, but it has been working on an eVTOL program since at least 2020.
What the aircraft is
AeroTime reported in November 2025 that the design has eight boom-mounted lifting propellers and two rear pusher propulsors. It uses hybrid-electric propulsion for extended range, and Honda is targeting a range of 400 km (249 miles). Honda showed a mockup of the aircraft at the Dubai Airshow 2025.
Carmakers in the air
Honda is not the only automaker in advanced air mobility. Toyota is the largest investor in Joby Aviation, and Archer Aviation has partnered with Stellantis. Hyundai backs its own eVTOL subsidiary, Supernal, which was reactivated in May 2026 after several months of impasse following a deal with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI).
Honda also has aerospace experience of its own. Its Honda Aircraft Company, based in North Carolina, builds the HondaJet HA-420, a very light jet that competes with the Embraer Phenom 100, Textron’s Cessna Citation M2 and the Cirrus Vision SF50.
