Falcon 6X debuts

The event featured the traditionally French stylistic motifs observed at Falcon rollouts: fantastic laser-like beams of light, unique camera angles, and even a dancer gyrating before the airplane’s airframe and interior. Veteran broadcaster Miles O’Brien served as host, with key Dassault personnel recounting the 6X’s attributes. Dassault Chairman and CEO Eric Trappier discussed the company’s history and ethos; Senior Engineer Carlos Brana gave an overview of the 6X’s capacious interior (including its entryway skylight); and Pratt&Whitney Canada President Maria Della Posta reviewed the 6X’s 14,000-lb thrust class PW812D engine. So far, the PW812D has spent 2,500 hours on a Boeing 747 testbed airplane, and racked up 6,000 trouble-free cycles.

According to Dassault, the Falcon 6X cabin has the most interior space in the 5,000-nautical-mile segment of business jets, with a 6-foot, 6-inch height; 8-foot, 6-inch width; and 40-foot, 4-inch length. The airplane can be outfitted to carry up to 16 passengers.

At a cruise speed of Mach 0.80, the 6X will fly a maximum range of 5,500 nm, allowing it to fly nonstop from Los Angeles to Geneva. At Mach 0.85 it will fly 5,100 nm nonstop and permit legs as long as Paris to Beijing. Even so, it also has the ability to land at shorter, more challenging airports such as Aspen and the London City Airport. Approach speeds at sea level can be as low as 109 KIAS with eight passengers, three crew, and NBAA IFR fuel reserves.

The 6X also features digital fly-by-wire flight controls, flaperons that can act as both flaps and ailerons, Honeywell’s EASy avionics suite, and Dassault’s FalconEye combined vision system—which the company says is the first head-up display to blend synthetic terrain imaging with navigation guidance that has credit to fly instrument approaches to 100-foot minimums.

First flight is expected in early 2021. Price? A cool $47 million. O’Brien jokingly asked Trappier if he’d take a check. “Cash only” came the answer.