Dassault Aviation rolls out first Falcon 5X

Bordeaux-Mérignac, France – Dassault Aviation has lifted the veil on the Falcon 5X business jet.

 

Presented at Dassault’s Bordeaux-Mérignac final assembly facility before an audience of 400 customers, operators, suppliers, and certification authority representatives, the 5X will offers a large cabin cross-section for a purpose-built business jet, and its 5,200nm (9,630km) range will permit it to connect the majority of the world’s most heavily travelled city pairs.

 

The twinjet will be more fuel efficient and will feature an approach speed of 105kts – down in the turboprop range – offering more airport options for business jet operators.

 

Announced at the National Business Aviation Association Convention in Las Vegas in October 2013, the Falcon 5X will be equipped with an efficient wing, an advanced digital flight control system derived from the Rafale fighter jet, and a new Snecma Silvercrest engine offering better fuel efficiency.

 

Other new features include a redesigned cockpit equipped with the third generation of Dassault’s EASy flight deck and aircraft and engine health monitoring systems.

 

“The Falcon 5X was designed to answer operator demand for an aircraft in the 5,000nm range that could provide more space and comfort than existing large body jets while combining the handling qualities, the low speed performance and operating economics which are the hallmark of Falcons,” said Eric Trappier, chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation. “Customers have already responded to the new aircraft with enthusiasm and we expect it to become every bit as popular as the 7X, the fastest selling Falcon we’ve ever built.”

 

Final assembly and testing of the Falcon 5X is taking place at the Mérignac facility near Bordeaux, France, which has seen the delivery of more than 8,000 Dassault civil and military aircraft, including 2,300 Falcons, since it opened in 1949.

 

The first 5X was powered up and started system ground tests last autumn. It was joined by aircraft no. 2 earlier this year.

 

Testing on the global simulation bench, which replicates the 5X’s main systems, is well advanced and the static and fatigue test campaign on a dedicated airframe has begun.

 

Testing of the Falcon 5X’s Silvercrest engine is also progressing, both on the ground and on Snecma’s flying test bed.

 

The aircraft’s maiden flight is anticipated before the end of the summer.