The Dassault Falcon 6X is a large, long-range
business jet
A business jet, private jet, or bizjet is a jet aircraft designed for transporting small groups of people. Business jets may be adapted for other roles, such as the evacuation of casualties or express parcel deliveries, and some are used by pub ...
under development by
Dassault Aviation
Dassault Aviation SA () is a French Aerospace manufacturer, manufacturer of military aircraft and business jets.
It was founded in 1929 by Marcel Dassault, Marcel Bloch as Société des Avions Marcel Bloch or "MB". After World War II, Marc ...
in France.
Its precursor, the Falcon 5X twinjet, was launched in 2013, rolled-out in 2015 and made its first flight on July 5, 2017, but its development was frozen as its
Safran Silvercrest
The Safran Silvercrest is a French turbofan under development by Safran Aircraft Engines.
Development
The engine was announced at the 2006 National Business Aviation Association convention.
Certification was originally slated for the end of 2 ...
engine failed to meet performance objectives.
In December 2017, the Falcon 6X was launched as a stretched version with
PW812D turbofans, made its first flight on 10 March 2021, and is slated to enter service in mid-2023.
It has the widest purpose-built business jet cabin at . Its wing allows a maximum weight with engines, for a range and a Mach 0.90 top speed.
Development
Falcon 5X
![Dassault Falcon 5X model 2015](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Dassault_Falcon_5X_model_2015.png)
Design work began in 2006 under the codename ''SMS'' for super-midsize, and was envisioned to compete with the
Hawker 4000, the
Bombardier Challenger 300
The Bombardier Challenger 300 is a range business jet made by Bombardier Aerospace.
Announced at the 1999 Paris Air Show, it made its maiden flight on 14 August 2001, received its Canadian type approval on 31 May 2003 and was introduced on 8 J ...
and the
Gulfstream G200 or the
Embraer Legacy 600 with a range. Few details were publicized, except that the model was to be powered by two 10,000-pound-thrust
Rolls-Royce RB282
The Rolls-Royce RB282 is a new series of twin-spool turbofan engines under development by Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to:
* Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1 ...
engines.
The project was revamped after the
2008 recession
The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At t ...
when demand for super midsized and smaller aircraft decreased dramatically, while demand for the large-cabin, long-range models remained vigorous.
In 2009, the design was re-evaluated and the engine choice was reassessed.
The 5X was unveiled at the
National Business Aviation Association
The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) is a non-profit, 501(c)(6) organization based in Washington, DC, United States. NBAA’s mission, according to the non-profit data and transparency organization GuideStar, is: “to foster an en ...
's annual convention on October 21, 2013, to be powered by two
Snecma Silvercrest
The Safran Silvercrest is a French turbofan under development by Safran Aircraft Engines.
Development
The engine was announced at the 2006 National Business Aviation Association convention.
Certification was originally slated for the end of 2 ...
s.
Compliant Silvercrest engines were originally planned for the end of 2013 but technical issues led Safran to postpone them to the end of 2017, leading to delay the 5X introduction from 2017 to 2020, and the high pressure compressor issues in the fall of 2017 delayed it further with performance shortfalls, preventing a 2020 service entry.
On 29 January 2016, Dassault Aviation confirmed a two-year delay and production freeze on the Falcon 5X because of ongoing problems with the
Snecma Silvercrest
The Safran Silvercrest is a French turbofan under development by Safran Aircraft Engines.
Development
The engine was announced at the 2006 National Business Aviation Association convention.
Certification was originally slated for the end of 2 ...
engine, the same engine responsible for delaying the development of the
Citation Hemisphere
The Cessna Citation Hemisphere was a business jet project by Cessna.
Announced in November 2015, it was then expected to fly in 2019 but its development was suspended in April 2018 due to a delay in the development of its Safran Silvercrest engin ...
.
As Dassault endured a near three-year delay to 2020 with 12 cancellations in 2016, it demanded compensation from Safran for the engine delays.
![Dassault Falcon 5X Maiden Flight (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Dassault_Falcon_5X_Maiden_Flight_%28cropped%29.jpg)
After ground tests in spring 2017 including low and high speed taxi, the 5X made its first flight from
Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport with a preliminary version of the engines on July 5, 2017.
The preliminary flight tests were intended to streamline the development program, leading to full
flight testing in 2018. That program was planned to fly with certifiable engines for flight validation and
type certification
A type certificate signifies the airworthiness of a particular category of aircraft, according to its manufacturing design (''type design''). It confirms that the aircraft of a new type intended for serial production, is in compliance with applica ...
, "limiting the consequences of the four year engine development delay as much as possible".
[
It was then scheduled to enter service in 2020.
By October 2017, the prototype had completed 50 flight hours, testing system performance and basic ]handling qualities Flying qualities is one of the three principal regimes in the science of flight test, which also includes performance and systems. Flying qualities involves the study and evaluation of the stability and control characteristics of an aircraft. They h ...
.
Dassault then announced the aircraft's service introduction could be further delayed after Safran discovered high-pressure compressor response problems at high altitudes and low airspeeds on its flying testbed in San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
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, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, s ...
. Dassault did not rule out switching its engine supplier at that point.
The prototype reached Mach 0.8 and 41,000 ft.
Falcon 6X
On 13 December 2017, Dassault abandoned the Silvercrest due to technical and schedule risks, ending the 5X development. In its place the company launched a new Falcon model with the same fuselage cross section, Pratt & Whitney Canada
Pratt & Whitney Canada (PWC or P&WC) is a Canada-based aircraft engine manufacturer. PWC's headquarters are in Longueuil, Quebec, just outside Montreal. It is a division of the larger US-based Pratt & Whitney (P&W), itself a business unit of ...
engines and a range, planned for a 2022 introduction.[
The new jet will use ]Pratt & Whitney Canada PW800
The Pratt & Whitney Canada PW800 is a turbofan engine in the thrust class, under development by Pratt & Whitney Canada. Intended for the regional jet and business jet market, the gear-less PW800 shares a common core with the larger, geared PW100 ...
s, already powering the Gulfstream G500/G600
The Gulfstream G400, G500, and G600 (GVII) are twin-engine business jets designed and produced by Gulfstream Aerospace.
The aircraft are designated ''Gulfstream GVII-G500'' and ''GVII-G600'' in their type certificate.
The two larger models we ...
.
The design was unveiled in February 2018, is forecast to make its first flight in early 2021 and begin deliveries in 2022.
Dassault hopes to launch a larger and longer-range variant of the 6X, to compete with the 7,700 nm (14,300 km)-range Bombardier Global 7500
The Bombardier Global 7500 and Global 8000 are ultra long-range business jets developed by Bombardier Aviation (formerly Bombardier Aerospace).
Announced in October 2010, the program was delayed by two years by a wing redesign. The 7500, origi ...
and the 7,500 nm-range Gulfstream G650ER
The Gulfstream G650 is a large business jet produced by Gulfstream Aerospace. .
On 6 September 2018, Dassault Aviation and Safran
Safran S.A. is a French multinational company that designs, develops and manufactures aircraft engines, rocket engines as well as various aerospace and defense-related equipment or their components. It was formed by a merger between SNECMA and ...
ended their dispute with US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
280 million in compensatory damages
At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognised at ...
paid by Safran to Dassault.
By October 2018, Dassault had started construction of the lower wing
A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...
and rear fuselage
The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...
parts.
By February 2019, the 6X's PW812D engines had accumulated 120 hours of flight tests.
By May 2019, the design was frozen, the engines had 1,000 h of test time, and assembly was expected in 2020 for an on-track program.
By October 2019, the first aircraft's front, main and rear fuselage sections were completed before being assembled and joined with the wing in early 2020.
The Falcon 6X was rolled-out on 8 December 2020. The initial flight was on 10 March 2021.
On 30 November 2021, a type certificate was issued by Transport Canada
Transport Canada (french: Transports Canada) is the department within the Government of Canada responsible for developing regulations, policies and services of road, rail, marine and air transportation in Canada. It is part of the Transportati ...
for the PW812 engine.
It came after more than 4,900 hours of testing and will allow the 6X to enter service on schedule in late 2022.
By March 2022, Dassault had completed cold weather testing in Iqaluit, Canada, reaching -37 °C (-35 °F), towards certification expected later in 2022 as the test fleet had accumulated 650 flight hours across 220 sorties.
By May 2022, as the three test aircraft have logged 850 hours, service entry was pushed to mid-2023 due to the supply chain crisis following Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine.
In 2022, its equipped price was $52.75M.
Design
The Falcon 6X is largely based on the Falcon 5X aerodynamics and systems, validated during its preliminary flight test program, but it is optimized to take advantage of its PW812D engines for a longer cabin and a greater range, a Mach 0.90 top speed and a Mach 0.85 cruise.
Its cabin is long, is high by wide (the largest in a purpose-built business jet), and can accommodate 16 passengers in three zones with 29 windows, including a galley skylight.[
A front-fuselage extension makes its cabin longer.
The Falcon 6X reinforces the 5X new wing and keeps its digital flight control system and ]Honeywell Primus
Honeywell Primus is a range of Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS) glass cockpits manufactured by Honeywell Aerospace.
Each system is composed of multiple display units used as primary flight display and multi-function display.
Primus 10 ...
Epic EASy III flight deck.
The new engine fans will have a diameter of narrower than in the Gulfstreams, and with four low-pressure turbine stages instead of five, engine weight is reduced by .
Its empty weight increases by or 5.7%, from , due to heavier engines, fuel system and structural reinforcements.
The Falcon 6X will be the first Dassault aircraft with a nitrogen inerting system.
Specifications
See also
Notes
References
External links
*
{{Dassault aircraft
Falcon 6X
The Dassault Falcon 6X is a large, long-range business jet under development by Dassault Aviation in France.
Its precursor, the Falcon 5X twinjet, was launched in 2013, rolled-out in 2015 and made its first flight on July 5, 2017, but its devel ...
Proposed aircraft of France
Low-wing aircraft
Twinjets
Cruciform tail aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 2021