Next Step: Maiden Flight In First Quarter 2015

Dassault Aviation on Wednesday rolled back the curtains on the ultra long range Falcon 8X, the company's new flagship and the latest addition to the growing Falcon business jet family.

Unveiled at Dassault's Bordeaux-Merignac facility before an audience of customers, operators, industrial partners and representatives of certification authorities, the 8X will offer the greatest range and the longest cabin in the Falcon line, along with the most extensive selection of cabin configurations available on any executive jet.

Announced in May of this year at European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE), the Falcon 8X builds on the advanced performance and technological prowess of the popular 7X long range trijet, the most innovative and fastest selling Falcon ever. The 8X will offer a range of 6,450 nm - and a cabin 3.5 feet longer than the 7X while affording the same low operating economics and remarkable operating flexibility for which all Falcons are known.

"Dassault's tradition of innovation and excellence helps explain the success of the Falcon 7X. More than 250 aircraft have been built in the seven years since service introduction, and demand remains strong. We anticipate a similarly bright future for the 8X." said Eric Trappier, Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation.

Final assembly and testing of the 8X is taking place at the state-of-the-art Charles Lindbergh hall at Merignac. The facility was built to handle production of the Falcon 7X, and the 8X will draw on the same advanced digital design and manufacturing techniques pioneered with the 7X.

Wing mating and engine installation on the first Falcon 8X were completed in July and first power up occurred shortly after. Ground tests, including flight control system testing, vibration tests and fuel system testing, concluded in November. The first engine run up took place in early December and the aircraft is on track for a maiden flight in the first quarter of 2015.

"We are extremely happy with progress on our new Falcon flagship," said Olivier Villa, Senior Vice President, Civil Aircraft, Dassault Aviation. "The program is right on schedule and all systems are performing exactly as designed."

A total of three aircraft, including one fully outfitted with a cabin interior, will be used in the flight test and certification campaign. Deliveries are expected to begin in the second half of 2016.

The 8X will be equipped with a panoply of innovative onboard systems largely proven on the 7X, including an enhanced version of the 7X's Digital Flight Control System. It will also come with a redesigned cockpit featuring an optional combined synthetic/enhanced vision head-up display.

Like the 7X, the Falcon 8X will be capable of approaches up to 6 degrees, allowing it to serve challenging airports such as London City Airport; and Lugano, Switzerland that are normally not accessible to large cabin aircraft. The aircraft will have a balanced field length of about 6,000 ft and an approach speed at typical landing weight of 107 kts.

FMI: www.dassault-aviation.com