Following the coverage of the Falcon 6X's presence at the Singapore Airshow last week, we thought we'd step back in time to have a look at an earlier jet from Dassault's Falcon family. 

David M North wrote a pilot report in the March 4, 1985 issue of Aviation Week & Space Technology, about Dassault-Breguet's Falcon 900.

He was well-placed to review this aircraft because he had flown and reviewed the Falcon 50 back in 1977. He described the 900 as having long-range capability and offered operators a corporate aircraft with "excellent short field performance".

A walkaround the aircraft allowed North to compare the 900 with the 50, and while he said "similarities were much in evidence, the differences became more apparent once inside". 

He noted that both aircraft had the three engine configuration and the instrument panel layout was similar, but the fuselage had increased more than 6 ft to 64.2 ft. The diameter enlarged by almost 20 in. 

Read on and find out how the aircraft handled. If you're a subscriber you can read more about the aircraft's handling characteristics, fuel consumption, climb speed and specifications in a five-page article.

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