Dassault: Second Falcon 6X takes flight

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The second Falcon 6X flight test aircraft has completed its maiden flight, completing an “important” milestone in the development programme for the new widebody, long-range twinjet, said Dassault Aviation.

Flight test aircraft number 2 made a two-hour flight on April 30th, climbing to flight Level 400 or 40,000ft (12,200m) and accelerating to a cruise speed of Mach 0.85.

“We are very pleased with the progress of the Falcon 6X test programme and remain confident of meeting its target 2022 certification date,” said Eric Trappier, chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation.

“We now have two aircraft in the air. Each is performing as expected and showing a high level of systems maturity for this phase of the programme. Several of our test pilots have flown the Falcon 6X. All are extremely satisfied with its performance and handling characteristics.”

A third aircraft, with a finished interior, will enter the test programme by summertime. Test aircraft no. 3 will serve to test the cabin systems and amenities, galley equipment, flight entertainment systems and connectivity capability, said the French OEM.

Later, the first production aircraft, aircraft no. 4, will be completed to a standard customer configuration and will embark on a global tour.

Test flight aircraft no.2 taking to the skies. (credit: Dassault)