Ever since the first Falcon 900 took to the skies in 1984, the series has served as the flagship of the Falcon family fleet. Now, all eyes are on the highlyanticipated sibling of the 900EX, as the first Falcon 900EX EASy approaches certification and first deliveries. In addition to the obvious appeal of flying 4,500 nautical miles nonstop, the Falcon 900EX EASy is versatile enough to combine short hops and long legs on the same mission.

Falcon 900EX EASy Program History

The Falcon 900EX EASy is one of those rare aircraft that offers every vital advantage for which it was conceived. It was developed from the Falcon 900EX, based on the same widebody airframe, but with upgraded avionics. The 900EX EASy solution is astute and practical: it delivers its range without changing the plane's external dimensions or sacrificing any of its passenger cabin volume to crew rest areas.

It improves on the 900EX in several areas:

• Braking System: The Falcon 900EX EASy has a new brake-by-wire system with hydraulic actuators, based on an architecture similar to the systems used in the Falcon 2000 and 2000EX. For enhanced maintainability, the braking computers perform self diagnostics and transmit this information to the central maintenance computer.
• Fuel System: The Falcon 900EX EASy makes use of the fuel metering system developed for the Falcon 2000EX, which is more efficient in large part due to a new Fuel Quantity Management computer (FQMC).
• Cabin Pressurization and Emergency Oxygen Distribution: The pressurization system on the Falcon 900EX EASy is fitted with a dedicated and extremely powerful new Cabin Pressure Controller (CPC), for unparalleled cabin comfort. And a new electro-pneumatic unit handles the emergency distribution of oxygen to passengers and eliminates the need for high-pressure oxygen in the cockpit - an extra guarantee of safety.
• Dassault's EASY Flight Deck: A revolution in man-machine interface between the crew and the aircraft to improve situational awareness, reduce cockpit workload, and improve safety.

The first 900EX EASy (s/n 97) took its maiden flight in February 2002. Also on board - the Flight Dynamics HGS 4860 Head-up Guidance System, offering Low Visibility Takeoff guidance (LVTO). The new HGS 4860 allows Cat III takeoffs in conditions as low as 300 feet Runway Visual Range (RVR).

Over 120 Falcon 900EX trijets have been delivered to corporate operators on every continent since the aircraft was certified in 1996. Combined deliveries of all of the 900 models total more than 330.

EXtended Range, Performance and More

The Falcon 900EX EASy can fly nonstop from Paris to Chicago at long-range cruise, or from Tokyo to San Francisco at .80 Mach (8 pax, NBAA IFR, Boeing 85% winds). It can also cross the Atlantic in either direction at .84 Mach high-speed cruise in three-engine safety.

"Green" Falcon 900EXs routinely covered the 4,237 nm great-circle distance nonstop from Bordeaux to the Little Rock Completion Center in 10-12 hours, depending on headwinds. The world record time for this trip was set by the late Captain Gene E. "Ed" Allen, who was previously Dassault Falcon Jet's Director of Flight, and Matthew A. Boyle, Senior VP and General Counsel in August 2000. They flew the 900EX from Bordeaux to Little Rock in 9 hours 19 minutes, establishing a new city-pair speed record for business jets in the CIJ weight class (44,092-55,115 lb).

Dispatch and Maintenance

The Falcon 900EX EASy draws upon the experience of the Falcon 900 fleet, which represents over 330 units worldwide. In addition, its new avionics provide advantages in reliability and maintainability. With the EASy system, pilots get clear, easily accessible information to help them make dispatch decisions, while maintenance data is centralized to facilitate servicing for ground crews.

"Because of the system's architecture, we were able to install a dedicated maintenance computer, which analyzes and centralizes data from all onboard computers (avionics, engines, systems), turning it into information that can be easily used by the technicians," said Thierry Ruelle, EASy Program Support Manager for Dassault Aviation. "In the long run, these improvements will further reduce downtime for maintenance and reduce the direct operating costs."

The first appearance of what is being called "integrated maintenance" was in 1995, on a Falcon 2000, and was gradually applied to the Falcon 900EX, 50EX and 2000EX. Today, the EASy system takes the integrated maintenance concept one step further by improving the pertinence and readability of information. It also supports development of a new, centralized maintenance concept, since all information is grouped on the instrument panel.

The Falcon 9000

Dassault's Falcon 9000 is the perfect blend of performance, range, cabin comfort and modern avionics. Combining some of the finest features of the Falcon 900B (which it has replaced), with the advanced avionics of the longer-range Falcon 900EX, has produced an intercontinental jet with a range of 4000 nautical miles, a generous wide-body cabin, and a new-generation flight deck.
The Falcon 900C was certified by the FAA in August 1999, just two months after it obtained certification from the French DGAC. By early 2000, the first two units were already delivered to corporate operators.

"The Primus 2000 system allows excellent integration of the various functions, plus a lot of maintenance advantages," says Olivier Villa, Senior Vice President of Civil Aircraft for Dassault Aviation. "We are convinced that this development will ensure the continued success of a key member in today's Falcon family."

"If a customer doesn't happen to need the Falcon 900EX EASy's full, nonstop range of 4,500 nautical miles, the less expensive 9000 with almost all the same features and 4,000 nautical miles of range is a logical choice," says John Rosanvallon, President and CEO of Dassault Falcon Jet Corp.

Wide-body Comfort

The Falcon 900 series cross-section offers more headroom than either the Gulfstream IV-SP or Challenger 604 cabins. In addition, its maximum width falls in the elbow-to-shoulder range for seated passengers. Aside from allowing a greater freedom of movement, this is key to placing the cabin windows and side ledges at their optimal height.

Surprisingly, although the Falcon 9000 is externally smaller than the Gulfstream IV-SP, its cabin actually offers more usable space. (By "usable space," Dassault refers to the length, width and height of the passenger seating zone, excluding galleys, lavatories, closets, etc. Maximizing usable space is the key to optimizing comfort and productivity, especially on long, intercontinental flights). Falcon 9000s can be configured to seat up to 19 passengers, but are more typically outfitted to accommodate 12 to 15 passengers in more spacious comfort.

Versatile Performance

With a nonstop cruising range of 4,000 rim (5600 kilometers), the Falcon 9000 is capable of reaching any point in the world quickly, safely, and efficiently. For a typical 4,000-nn mission, a Falcon 9000 taking off at 45,500 lb (i.e., five passengers, three crew and full fuel) would require a balanced field length of only 4,935 ft.

Low operating costs represent yet another plus. The new Falcon 9000's fuel-saving design and its broad warranty protection enable it to operate for less cost than its main competitor which has only two engines.

In the Record Books

Falcon 900-series aircraft have earned numerous world and national records for distance, speed, time-to-climb, and sustained altitude. Most noteworthy are six world speed and distance records for Class C-1.1 Medium Airplanes (35,274 to 44,092 lb): New York to London (5:41), London to New York (6:46), New York to Madrid (6:19), Bordeaux to Little Rock (11:07), New Orleans to Paris (9:05), and Paris to Houston (10:40). This remarkable flight, flown on July 16, 1991, spanned a great-circle distance of 5012 statute miles at more than 469 mph.

FMI: www.dassault-aviation.com