Honda Motor Co. Ltd. and General Electric Co. are forming a business alliance to produce a new jet-engine for business jets. The private aircraft market is one of the few bright spots in the aviation field, with hopeful forecasts for new lighter and faster models that travel long distances. Honda and GE say they have been in discussions for more than a year and will formalize the venture later this year. The outline of the agreement was inked in Tokyo on Sunday, February 15, by Honda Motor president and CEO Takeo Fukui and GE Transportation president and CEO David Calhoun. GE is one of the top manufacturers of engines for all types of jet aircraft. The agreement calls for Honda and GE to develop and certify a design developed by Honda, the HF118 turbofan jet engine. Honda entered the jet engine/aircraft field 18 years ago and has been developing the lightweight engine (designed for the 1,000-3,500-lb thrust class) in 1999.