FIRST FLIGHT TO FIRST DELIVERY
The newest jet in the Falcon family flew for the first time in February 2015 and entered service last fall, with Greek operator AMJet Executive taking delivery of the first aircraft at Dassault’s Bordeaux-Merignac facility on October 5. Since then, a number of operators in other countries around the world have also become proud 8X owners.
Part of what makes the Falcon 8X so special is that it was fully mature when it entered service. As the model neared the end of a two-year development program, Dassault subjected the aircraft to rigorous operational tests designed to demonstrate its full range of capabilities under the most demanding conditions, with a particular emphasis on cabin comfort and connectivity.
Starting in late April 2016 and continuing unabated for nearly four consecutive weeks, 26 test and operational pilots, as well as more than 60 engineers, technicians and flight attendants flew to 46 destinations around the world—from North, Central and South America to Europe, the Middle East, China and Southeast Asia. Altogether, the global proving tour involved no fewer than 65 flights covering some 55,000 nautical miles.
Missions varied from 18 minutes to 14 hours, including ultra- long range flights from Singapore and Sao Paulo to Paris, and from New York to Abu Dhabi. The 8X was subjected to every conceivable flight environment that operators could expect to encounter themselves—from blistering desert heat (more than 40 degrees C) to extreme cold (-33 degrees C). The tests also included takeoffs and landings in extra high and extra low humidity conditions
Companies awaiting delivery of their new Falcon could not have asked for a more reassuring validation of what Dassault had promised them: the best all-around ultra-long range business jet in production. Feedback from the trials—cabin comfort, air conditioning and cabin noise, in particular—was excellent. In fact, the 8X surpassed design objectives in several key areas, such as takeoff distance. This meant that customers could expect to take ownership of an aircraft that would be even better than they originally thought.
CUSTOMER FOCUS DRIVES INNOVATION
From an engineering perspective, it would be easy to describe the new Falcon 8X as the optimal combination of form, function and efficiency, because it is. But the essence of the airplane is more basic than that—it is exactly what customers asked for.
Dassault works hand-in-hand with an operator advisory board— owners, operators, pilots and maintenance technicians located around the world—to obtain feedback on how Falcon jets perform and on improvements they would like to see in future models. Such input was instrumental in developing the 8X.
As development got under way, the top priority was a flawless entry into service. And that is what Dassault achieved thanks to the highly successful Falcon 7X, a clean-sheet design from which the new flagship was derived. Nearly 300 7X trijets are operating worldwide, an indication of just how well it has been received since entering service in mid-2007. Among other best-in-class features, such as fuel efficiency and dispatch reliability, the 7X was the quietest business jet in operation—until the Falcon 8X came along. Lighter acoustic insulation was engineered into the new jet, and the result was cabin noise levels that are the lowest in any ultra-long range jet.
To create its new flagship, Dassault stretched the 7X rather than embarking on yet another clean-sheet design, a first for the
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