Falcons, A Different Breed

• Dassault Aviation

Last year Dassault celebrated the 60th anniversary of the first Falcon Jet—the Falcon 20. Famous aviator Charles Lindbergh recommended the plane to Pan Am Airlines for a new business jet division. The Falcon 20 was his choice based on solid, fighter-like construction and high performance.

Today the same traits that made the Falcon 20 exceptional at the time, are still the traits that make today’s Falcons different than other modern business jets—and in ways that are important to their owners.

Dassault is the only company in the world that builds fighter jets (currently the Rafale) and business jets. It is therefore able to transfer fighter technology and construction techniques (fighter DNA) to its business jets.

All Dassault business jets have slats and flaps for slow, safe approach speeds to short airfields. They are similar to Rafale systems that permit carrier landings. And both types of aircraft have tough trailing link landing gear that can take a pounding (and make every arrival smooth in a business jet). They also permit the business jets to land at close to maximum takeoff weight, so a Falcon could make a short hop, pick up passengers and fly across an ocean. 

Digital flight control technology, commonly referred to as fly-by wire design, is the top benefit that Dassault business jets get from the fighters.”

Other business jets now have fly by wire, but none have been refining this technology for nearly 50 years as Dassault has.

In a fighter, the pilot needs to be focused on the mission and the threat environment. Rafale flight controls have been designed with ease of use in mind. Dassault has carried this philosophy into its business jets.

For example, in other aircraft models, the pilot is required to manually trim off control pressures as speed changes. In fly-by-wire Falcons, trimming is automatic.

Falcons are known for their easy handling. They are easier to fly because the digital flight controls are more precise and offer a range of protections. The pilot cannot overstress the aircraft, overspeed or stall it. Falcon digital flight controls provide confidence in the worst conditions such as wind shear and gusty crosswinds. They provide a smoother ride in turbulence because they react faster and more precisely to quick, sharp updrafts and downdrafts.

Drawing on fighter design, Dassault was the first install a headup display in a business jet, the Falcon 2000 in 1993. It provided improved situational awareness, especially when maneuvering in the final phases of a landing approach.

Today’s Combined Vision System. fuses multiple sensor data and a global terrain database to create an outside picture of the world on a head up display showing mountains, obstacles, runways, even animals on runways in darkness and fog.

Dassault introduced the first fly-by-wire plane in business aviation in 2007. The Falcon 7X set the benchmark for superior handling and safety protections.

The Falcon 8X followed the 7X with longer fuselage, a new and lighter wing, more fuel capacity and longer range. It can fly 6,450 nm nonstop. It is about a third lighter than competitors with lower fuel consumption and lower direct operating costs. The 8X is also one of the quietest business jets.

Dassault’s newest aircraft, the Falcon 6X ultra-wide-body business jet entered service in late 2023, with deliveries now underway. Those who have flown it say it is even quieter.

This 5,500 nautical mile aircraft has the largest cabin cross section in business aviator. Cabin height is six feet, six inches and width is eight-feet six inches.

The 6X has an advanced version of Dassault’s digital flight controls integrating more controls into the fly-by-wire system, including a new control called a flaperon—part flap, part aileron. Among other things, it helps smooth the ride in turbulence and allows for steeper approaches with excellent speed control. It even integrates nosewheel steering into the fly-by-wire system for precise tracking on wet runways and in crosswinds.

Now that the 6X has entered service, Dassault is more than ever focused on its next business jet, the 10X, which begins final assembly this year and will be certified in 2027. The 10X is even larger than the 6X and will be the largest and most comfortable purpose-built business jet—that is, not a repurposed airliner. The 10X will fly close to the speed of sound—Mach 0.925 and up to 7,500 nm.

The 10X will have an even more advanced flight deck and flight controls. These include a “Smart Throttle,” one lever controlling both engines and completely integrated with the digital flight control system. This new level of integration allows for a new safety feature—an automatic recovery mode that can be activated in the event of an upset, for example, in a wake turbulence encounter.

Meanwhile, the company’s smallest jet, the 4,000 nautical mile 2000LXS, remains its best seller. More than 700 2000-series jets have been delivered. The 10-seat jet, certified in 1994 remains a model of efficiency and go-anywhere, short field performance.

Dassault Aviation