Dassault's Falcon 8X Wows the Crowds in Paris

Dassault Falcon's new flagship, the 8X, made its public debut on home territory this week at the Paris Air Show. S/N 001, still in certification flight-test, was put through its paces every day over Le Bourget Airport as part of the show’s flying display. Unveiled last December, the ultra-long-range, large-cabin 8X, a lengthened and upgraded version of the 7X, made its first flight on February 6. The aircraft’s 6,450-nm range will open up new nonstop city pairs for the FBW trijet such as Los Angeles to Beijing and Shanghai, New York to Dubai and Hong Kong to Johannesburg.

Certification of the $58 million aircraft, powered by a trio of P&WC PW307D turbofans, is anticipated in the second half of next year with delivery of the first production aircraft to Serge Dassault, chairman and CEO of Groupe Dassault, following soon after.