Dassault Aviation presented its new Falcon 6X long-range, large-cabin business jet Dec. 8 during a virtual rollout ceremony at the company’s Bordeaux-Merignac final assembly facility in France.
Company Chairman and CEO Eric Trappier spoke during the live-streamed event as test pilots escorted the first 6X into the background at Dassault’s Charles Lindbergh Hall. The jet is the first of three preproduction aircraft that will take part in the flight certification program, which is expected to begin early next year.
Powered by twin Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) PW812D turbofan engines, the Falcon 6X will have the largest passenger cabin in its class, a 5,500 nm (10,186 km) range and top speed of Mach .90. The cabin will be installed by Dassault’s main completion center at Clinton National Airport in Little Rock, Arkansas.
The 6X features a third-generation EASy III flight deck based on the Honeywell Primus Epic avionics suite and comes with Dassault’s FalconEye combined vision system, a joint development with Elbit Systems, as standard equipment.
Appearing separately, P&WC President Maria Della Posta said PW812D engines supporting the first flight have been delivered and installed. The engine has accumulated more than 2,500 hr. of testing, including 300 hr. on the engine manufacturer’s Boeing 747SP flying testbed, and 6,000 start-to-shutdown cycles.
“While we encountered a fair number of challenges along the way, we’ve been able to keep the program pretty much on track,” said Della Posta, referring to complications caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’ve had to learn a lot through this in how to perform critical operations remotely, and I believe this will only strengthen our collaboration going forward,” she said. “I would say it’s been relatively smooth. We’ve met all the expectations and we’re pleased that we’re hitting all the milestones.”
Dassault expects to achieve certification and entry into service of the 6X in 2022.
“Now the plane is yours,” said Trappier, as test pilots Fabrice Valette and Bruno Ferry ascended a staircase into the first 6X.
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