Dassault’s EASy flight deck is arguably the most advanced flying today. Powered by Honeywell’s Primus Epic platform and displayed on four large Honeywell screens, EASy is an intuitive, digital system that was first introduced on the Falcon 900EX in 2003, but has been continually improved to maintain its place at the head of the field with the current EASy IV.
The system naturally provides the basis for the Nexus flight deck that will be installed in the forthcoming Falcon 10X, although Dassault test pilot Philippe Duchateau told AIN this week at EBACE 2024 that it will be better, with more features and options.
In its original form, EASy was revolutionary in introducing a graphical interface rather than traditional alphanumeric data entry. A trackball for each pilot is used to drive a cursor across the central multifunction displays and their own primary flight display.
All relevant information and checklists are held in the system and can be accessed via drop-down menus. Time-sensitive offboard data, such as weather, can be requested and downloaded rapidly.
EASy is also “window-able,” allowing the pilots to tailor their displays to how they prefer for the phase of flight or the task at hand. Flight plans can be programmed via the system, and existing ones can be retrieved from the system and amended.
Updating flight plans in flight can be achieved very rapidly. A useful feature is the "What if?" menu that allows the pilots to compute in seconds the ramifications of flight plan alterations. For instance, the fuel remaining upon arrival at the destination following an increase in cruise speed can be rapidly computed to see if it is feasible.
EASy IV—which is on the Falcon 6X and 8X and soon could be available as a retrofit for earlier Falcons—introduced several improvements, including more powerful computers. The definition at which map displays and airport/approach charts can be viewed is significantly enhanced.
Additionally, the incorporation of cockpit display of traffic information (CDTI) increases situational awareness by showing ADS-B-equipped ground vehicles, as well as other taxiing aircraft. Navigation on the ground at large airports is further clarified by each taxiway and ramp being named on the map display, with route highlighting available at a click of the trackball control.
Runway overrun awareness and alerting system (ROASS) is also a feature in EASy IV, constantly computing runway distances and providing aural alerts and visual alerts in the primary flight and head-up displays if it detects a possibility of a runway excursion. Landing factors include varying runway friction coefficients, which can quickly be loaded into the system on receipt of the relevant information from air traffic control.
The Jeppesen charts held in the system—updated every 28 days—are more detailed, and there is a night mode display. Daily transoceanic tracks can be easily uploaded, and EASy IV facilitates the joining of these tracks.
Supporting the EASy system is the tablet-based electronic flight bag, which can host other apps, such as the Falcon Ways fuel-burn optimization tool. It also hosts Falcon Perf, which provides the mandatory second source for key performance calculations for takeoff and landing.
For the Nexus flight deck in the Falcon 10X, Dassault is introducing even more enhancements. The biggest difference is a change to touchscreen control, although smaller touchpads are also provided in the center console because the accuracy of touch control on the screens can be negatively affected during turbulence.
Nexus will feature a system check function in which the system itself analyzes the inputs being made by the pilots. An alert is flagged up by the system if it thinks it has found an erroneous entry, requiring action by the flight crew to either override or concur. In this way, the ultimate decision is always a human one.
In addition, Nexus is moving to an Open World architecture that can allow more outside apps to be used with the system, although full integration would require detailed work with Honeywell to ensure there were no conflicts with the existing functions.