Ultra-Long Range Falcon 8X Marks First Year In Middle East Service

Dassault Aviation highlighted its new ultra-long range Falcon 8X business jet at this year’s edition of the Dubai Air Show at the Dubai World Central.

The exhibit also featured a new, modernized version of the super versatile Falcon 900LX long range trijet which received numerous upgrades along with a makeover in late 2016. The 6,450 nm/11,945 km Falcon 8X has generated considerable excitement in the Middle East since the first aircraft was delivered to a Gulf customer several months ago. The 8X is now in service in all major markets, including the U.S., Europe, Russia, China and India, in addition to the Middle East.

“We expect the Gulf region to play a big role in the success of our new flagship, which offers the best combination of range, cabin comfort and operating efficiency of any business jet on the market,” said Dassault Aviation Chairman/CEO Eric Trappier. “We also anticipate heavy demand here for our upgraded Falcon 900LX model, with a redesigned cabin, contemporary styling, optimized sound proofing, and the latest cabin systems make it the best buy in its category for years to come.”

The Middle East has traditionally been a key market for Falcon aircraft, whose efficiency and robustness are particularly appreciated by local operators. The Gulf fleet has nearly doubled in five years, to more than 70 aircraft, and continues to grow despite the softness of the current market.

The Falcon 8X can fly non-stop from New York to Dubai, Dubai to Adelaide, or Chicago to Jeddah, yet land at restricted airports like Gstaad and Lugano, Switzerland, that are typically inaccessible to other large business jets. A few key performance parameters, such as take-off distance and cabin noise, even surpassed design objectives for the big new trijet, which was derived from the Falcon 7X, regarded as the quietest executive jet on the market. The 8X is even quieter than the 7X – an important consideration for the 14 hour-plus flights for which the 8X was designed.

Thanks to significant feedback from 7X operators and a month-long world demonstration tour last year, the 8X comes to market with fully mature systems and an exceptional level of reliability. Operational capability has been further reinforced with recent approvals to fly in severe crosswind conditions and to operate at London City Airport.

The 8X is certified to carry Dassault’s revolutionary FalconEye Combined Vision System, the first head up display (HUD) system in business aviation to combine synthetic and enhanced vision capabilities in a single view. Almost all Falcon 8X customers have signed up to use the new FalconEye HUD.

Falcon 8X operators can also opt for Falcon Sphere II electronic flight bag solutions, which bring the industry closer than ever to the truly paperless cockpit, and a JetWave Ka-band Satcom system, which enables passengers to browse the internet, stream videos or video conference anywhere in the world, over land or over water, as if they were in their office or at home. The FalconEye and Ka-band broadband options are also available on the modernized version of the 4,750 nm Falcon 900LX.

(Source: Dassault Aviation news release. Image from file)

FMI: www.dassault-aviation.com