Falcon 8X makes public debut at Paris Air Show
Dassaut’s new Falcon 8X tri-jet will make its public debut at the Paris Air Show, a biennial event held at Le Bourget Airport, Paris.
ALSO SEE: Dassault Falcon 8X: Buyer’s and Investor’s Guide
The Falcon 8X is a one meter stretch of the Falcon 7X, with strengthened wings that not only take the additional fuselage weight, but also allows more fuel to be taken on board. As a result, the Falcon 8X offers and additional 450nm range of its smaller sibling.
Dassault first unveiled the Falcon 8X to the public in December 2014, less than a year after the aircraft was first announced.
A Dassault spokesperson told Corporate Jet Investor earlier in the year that they were keen to give the Falcon 8X its first public outing at the Paris Air Show, as the French plane makers headquarters are in the city.
The company currently has three test aircraft flying. The first two aircraft (MSN 401 / F-WWQA & 402 / F-WWQB) are undergoing flight testing at at Dassault’s flight test facility at Istres in the south of France.
The third aircraft (MSN 403 / F-WWQC) flew for the first time on May 11, and has since been transferred to the company’s US completion centre in Little Rock Arkansas, where it will be fitted with a full production interior.
Dassault is expecting the flight test programme for the Falcon 8X to take 500 hours over 200 flights, with certification targeted for mid 2016.
