Unveiled at Dassault’s Bordeaux-Merignac facility before an audience of customers, operators, industrial partners and representatives of certification authorities, the 8X will offer the greatest range and the longest cabin in the Falcon line, along with the most extensive selection of cabin configurations available on any executive jet.
“Dassault’s tradition of innovation and excellence helps explain the success of the Falcon 7X. More than 250 aircraft have been built in the seven years since service introduction, and demand remains strong. We anticipate a similarly bright future for the 8X,” said Eric Trappier, Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation.
Final assembly and testing of the 8X is taking place at the state-of-the-art Charles Lindbergh hall at Merignac. The facility was built to handle production of the Falcon 7X, and the 8X will draw on the same advanced digital design and manufacturing techniques pioneered with the 7X.
More than 8,000 Dassault civil and military aircraft, including 2,300 Falcons, have taken to the air from Mérignac since it opened in 1949.
Wing mating and engine installation on the first Falcon 8X were completed in July and first power up occurred shortly after. Ground tests, including flight control system testing, vibration tests and fuel system testing, concluded in November. The first engine run up took place in early December and the aircraft is on track for a maiden flight in the first quarter of 2015.
A total of three aircraft, including one fully outfitted with a cabin interior, will be used in the flight test and certification campaign. Deliveries are expected to begin in the second half of 2016.
The Falcon 8X cabin will be 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) high and 7 ft 8 in (2.34 m) wide and 42 ft 8 in (13 m) long, enabling it to offer the most diverse selection of cabin layouts on the market. More than 30 configurations will be available.
With eight passengers and three crew, the Falcon 8X will be capable of flying 6,450 nm at M.80 non-stop. It will be powered by an improved version of the Pratt and Whitney Canada PW307 engine that equips the Falcon 7X.
The 8X will be equipped with a panoply of innovative onboard systems, as well as a redesigned cockpit featuring an optional combined synthetic/enhanced vision head-up display.
Like the 7X, the Falcon 8X will be capable of approaches up to 6 degrees, allowing it to serve challenging airports such as London City Airport; and Lugano, Switzerland that are normally not accessible to large cabin aircraft.
The 8X will also be able to perform an extensive list of one-leg missions, including Beijing to New York, Hong Kong to Seattle and New York to Dubai.
