First Falcon 8X nears completion
Dassault Falcon 8X
Dassault Aviation has joined the engines, fuselage and wings of the first Falcon 8X business jet.
Dassault Falcon 8X
Dassault Aviationhas joined the engines, fuselage and wings of the first Falcon 8X business jet.
Once all of the components are fitted, the manufacturer will be able to start initial power-on tests and then begin the ground testing of the aircraft.
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The Falcon 8X was unveiled at the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition in Geneva in May, the aircraft should be certified in 2016.
The first 8X fuselage, is being built at Dassault Aviation’s Biarritz, France facility, arrived at the nearby main assembly plant in Mérignac near Bordeaux in May. The 8X wing is 600 lbs lighter than the airfoil on the 7X, arrived from Martignas outside Bordeaux in June and was mated to the fuselage along with the empennage.
The Falcon 8X is powered by Pratt & Whitney Canada PW307D engines, which will provide 5% more thrust than the PW307As that equip the Falcon 7X, were installed at the beginning of July.
The aircraft should be powered up fo the first time by the end of this month, the first flight is expected in early 2015 and to begin deliveries by the end of 2016.
Falcon 5X progress
Olivier Villa, senior vice president, Civil Aircraft, Dassault Aviation says: “Production setup and jigs put in place for our new Flagship benefit from our many years of Product Lifecycle Management experience in terms of quality and manufacturing efficiency, and work is proceeding exactly as anticipated.”
“We are very pleased that the assembly went so smoothly. It was important since the first Falcon 5X is following the 8X by a few weeks. That’s a very exceptional situation,” adds Villa.
The Falcon 5X is also expected to be ready for ground tests by the end of the summer. The fuselage for the first aircraft arrived in Mérignac in June and will be mated to the empennage by the end of July. The 5X is scheduled to fly in the first half of next year and to enter service in 2017, in less than a year after the 8X.
