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SINGAPORE—A Dassault Aviation executive is looking to the Falcon 10X’s first flight as the moment when early sales momentum should pick up as the French airframer readies the business jet's formal unveiling next month.
The company will not detail the exact timing for first flight and certification until the planned March 10 ceremony, but Carlos Brana, executive vice president for Civil Aircraft, said the aircraft should be wheels up not long after the event.
The Falcon 10X has already enjoyed good customer interest, he said Feb. 3 on the first day of Singapore Airshow, but first flight tends to build buyer confidence the project is real, making them more ready to commit.
Dassault expects the production ramp-up of the Falcon 10X to be somewhat smoother than of its last new business jet, the Falcon 6X, which suffered from COVID-induced supply chain disruptions that were particularly persistent in France. Those are now mostly behind the company, Brana said.
Despite optimism about Falcon 10X sales, Brana would not commit to it helping Dassault achieve a positive book-to-bill ratio this year after last year’s deliveries outpaced order intake.
The 7,500 nm-range, twin-engine Rolls-Royce Pearl 10X-powered aircraft is designed for a cruise speed of Mach 0.85 and a top speed of Mach 0.925, while flying at a maximum certified altitude of 51,000 ft.
Dassault plans to introduce some flight deck and cabin enhancement with its largest business jet, Brana said. Among them are an upset recovery mode borrowed from the company’s Rafale fighter where it is used to help pilots in case of G-force induced loss of consciousness. On the business jet it is intended to aid in the case of severe wake turbulence or similar scenarios.
The Falcon 10X will also feature a smart throttle, with a single lever controlling both engines.
On the cabin side, Dassault is designing the aircraft to have 3,000-ft. cabin pressure altitude even if the jet is flying at 41,000 ft., and noise reduction so passengers are not fatigued during ultra-long-haul flights.
Brana also said sales momentum for the Falcon 6X also is picking up after more than two years of operations and good in-service reviews. U.S. buyer interest in particular is gaining pace, he noted. That demand was somewhat held back last year amid uncertainty over U.S. tariff policies.
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