Dassault Aviation’s forthcoming flagship, the Falcon 6X, is making its MEBAA debut and the French airframer is presenting a fully outfitted example of the “extra wide body” jet, scheduled to enter service in mid-2023, on display. Dassault is also displaying an 8X—the current flagship of the Falcon fleet—and a cabin mockup of the 10X, which will be even wider and taller than the 6X.
The 5,500-nm range 6X will have a top speed of Mach 0.90 and feature the tallest (6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m)) and widest (8 feet 6 inches (2.58 m)) cabin of any purpose-built business jet, according to Dassault. The 6X on display, the fourth airframe built, completed a round-the-world demonstration tour in July showcasing the aircraft’s maturity and reliability. The twinjet made 50 flights over five continents and logged 150 hours, flying up to five times per day during the tour.
“Pilots gave all systems, including new features of the EASy IV flight deck, high marks and assessed performance as ‘spot on,’” said Dassault Aviation chairman and CEO Eric Trappier.
The three test aircraft taking part in the certification process have concluded hot-weather trials in the Tunisian desert at temperatures of up to 118 degrees F (48 C), cold soak trials in northern Canada at temperatures as low as -36 degrees F (-38 C), and high-elevation trials at Telluride, Colorado.
During the trials, the twinjet “distinguished itself as an extremely remarkable aircraft, sailing through its certification campaign,” said Trappier. The final phases of EASA and FAA certification flight tests are underway.
The Pratt & Whitney Canada PW812D engine that powers the 6X received EASA certification in August, and FAA approval is pending. In preparation for service entry, a full flight simulator has entered operation at CAE Burgess Hill in the UK, with training slated to start in April.
Meanwhile, as of mid-October, the 20th Falcon 6X was about to go on the final assembly line and three customer aircraft were in completion at Dassault’s U.S. interior facility in Little Rock, Arkansas.
The cabin mockup of the 10X on display highlights the next iteration of Dassault’s “go big” design strategy. A 7,500-nm-range jet, the 10X will feature an even taller (6 feet 8 inches) and wider (9 feet 1 inch) cabin than the 6X. On track for a 2025 service entry, it will incorporate a composite wing; the first conforming wing has been completed, and static and fatigue testing will begin soon, Dassault said. Parts manufacturing for the production of initial subassemblies is underway, and components with long lead times, including landing gear, are ready for assembly. Production of a full fuselage is expected by year’s end.
The purpose-built Rolls-Royce Pearl 10X engine—with more than 1,000 test hours logged—has achieved promised performance benchmarks, including compatibility with 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel. Ground testing of the first complete Pearl 10X—including its new nacelle, developed in-house, and engine build-up—is anticipated soon. Rolls-Royce, meanwhile, is building a production support facility adjacent to the 10X final assembly line in Bordeaux-Mérignac, France. The flight test campaign for the engine, slated to start next year, will take place on a Rolls-Royce flying test bed.
To streamline 10X certification, Dassault is using digitized systems enabling engineers to test and demonstrate the maturity of all systems on the ground, before the actual aircraft flies.
At its Istres, France, flight test center, the company has created two test benches equipped with a full flight deck and subsystems computer suites like those that will be on the production aircraft. Tests have begun and will cover avionics, engine controls, flight controls, hydraulics, electrical distribution, braking, fire protection, and other aircraft systems. A third test bench, at Dassault Aviation’s Saint-Cloud headquarters, near Paris, replicates the flight deck and flight control system.
In regard to sales, Dassault took net orders for 41 Falcons in the first half of this year, compared with 25 in the first half of 2021, and Trappier called the backlog—which grew to $34 billion (€34 billion) from $20.7 billion a year ago—“historically strong.”