Falcon 6X, Two-Year Report Card

• Dassault Aviation

Almost two years after entry into service, the Falcon 6X is setting new milestones and reaching new heights, literally.

This summer, for example, the versatile 6X finished a test campaign at La Paz, Bolivia’s airport at a field elevation of 13,325 feet. The flight crew reported that the airplane performed flawlessly in the thin air, while the crew itself experienced exhaustion, rapid heartbeats and lightheadedness immediately after arrival.

Per advance planning, the next day was a scheduled rest period to acclimatize to the altitude. The following day, they felt much better and completed a series of engine starts, accelerate/stop tests, and landings to assure proper performance at density altitudes as high as 16,000 feet. The aircraft will now be able to access airports as high as 14,000 feet, several of which are in Asia.

Even as the aircraft passes more than 20 deliveries (including a recent delivery to an Indian customer) and the fleet logs over 5,000 flight hours, the flight test organization continues to expand capabilities.

These include steep approach certification, which has recently been approved. Customers around the world want to use London City Airport when flying to the UK. It has both a relatively short runway, slightly less than 5,000 feet, and a 5.5-degree ILS glideslope. Aircraft and pilots must be certified for the approach. A typical precision approach is about half as steep at 3 degrees.

Pilots need to control speed on a steeper descent. This is made easier in the 6X by an additional flight control called a flaperon—part aileron/part flap—which replaces speed brakes and eliminates the rumble they produce when deployed in descents. The flaperon, which is part of the aircraft’s digital flight control system, is also automatically active in turbulence, acting to damp out bumps in rough air.

Pilot and passenger feedback has been consistent on a few key features. Flight crews report that the 6X has the best handling of any Falcon ever (airplanes already known for precision control), in large measure due to the latest digital-flight controls, a further refinement of the systems found on the 7X and 8X.

Pilots say “kiss” landings are routine.

FalconEye, an enhanced combined vision system that shows terrain and airports even in pitch darkness or fog, also helps pilots fly with more precision and safety. The system is now certified for pilots to fly approaches to just 100 feet above the ground before picking up natural visual cues.

The system is standard on the 6X with one head-up display for the pilot. Dassault has recently certified a second optional HUD on the copilot side. With the requisite training and dual HUD’s, either pilot can fly an approach to 100 feet. From the pilots’ perspective, two HUDs are better than one. The benefit for passengers is that diversions for weather are rare, which also saves fuel and emissions.

Passengers say the 6X is remarkably quiet, easily as quiet as the Falcon 8X, considered by many the standard in the industry when it comes to noise reduction. Passengers are also finding that the spaciousness of the 6X provides real benefits in comfort and productivity—everyone just feels they have more personal space, and many find themselves on their laptops, connected to the outside world by high-speed Internet, through much of a flight, unless of course they want to dine or sleep. The 6X has the largest cabin cross section in a purpose-built business jet, with a cabin height of six-feet, six-inches.

Meanwhile, mechanics are gaining experience with a new way to troubleshoot issues—which is mainly by letting the plane do it for them. The 6X has the industry’s most advanced onboard diagnostics with a system called FalconScan. It monitors over 50,000 parameters and tracks down faults.

For example, Dassault reports that FalconScan recently pinpointed a faulty hydraulic switch while airborne, which was ordered in-flight and quickly replaced. A FalconScan playback feature revealed a starting issue was simply due to a pilot not holding the start button for a full one second. FalconScan reduces AOGs and makes mechanics problem-solving heroes.

The 6X had a very smooth flight test program, partly as a result of Dassault extensively ground testing systems before flight, even more so than on past programs. At this point, the company considers the plane a mature product having reached the two-year mark with few teething issues.

When scheduled or unscheduled service is required, the company has already more than 20 of its 60 factory-owned and authorized facilities fully trained and equipped for the model, plus more than $100 million in spare parts for the aircraft pre-positioned around the world.

The company has been consistently expanding its service network. Two of the latest and largest are in Dubai and Kuala Lumpur. The latter is both a service and sales hub for the Asia-Pacific region. The KL sales team is actively promoting the aircraft to regional prospects at air shows and on individual demos. Given the aircraft’s big cabin and 5,500 nautical mile range, Dassault expects the 6X to find a popular following in Asia as well as the 7,500 nm Falcon 10X coming in the new future.

Dassault Aviation www.dassault-aviation.com