Why did an automobile company like Honda begin a project to design an airplane?
Fujino: In 1986, Honda started the new fundamental technology center. There were several projects: airplane project, jet engine project, and humanoid robot project. I was called by my boss to transfer from the automotive division to the airplane division. A&S: Were you happy with the transfer? Fujino: At the time, I was surprised. I didn’t expect Honda to start an airplane project. I graduated in aeronautical engineering from the university, but in Japan there is no major aerospace industry, so it’s not so exciting in Japan so I had decided to commit myself to work on the automobile when I decided to join Honda. At first I tried to decline the transfer. I wanted to work for the automobile division. But company is company, so I was automatically transferred from the automobile division to the airplane project. A&S: What was your first project? Fujino: The first project was to build the experimental aircraft called MH-01. The MH stood for Mississippi Honda. Honda partnered with Mississip
