Third Falcon 8X joins flight test campaign

Falcon 8X msn 401

Dassault has added a third Falcon 8X to the new tri-jet’s flight test program, as the French company works towards gaining certification of its new $58 million flagship.

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The third aircraft flew for the first time from the French company’s Bordeaux-Mérignac facility on May 11, just over two months after the second aircraft flew for the first time.

The aircraft’s first flight was similar to the first flight of msn 402, and was flown by Dassault Aviation test pilots Etienne Faurdessus and Damien Brault.

The first two aircraft are both currently at the Dassault test facility at Istres France, but msn 403 will will be used to test the aircraft’s cabin, and will be flown to the Falcon completion facility in Little Rock, Arkansas in June.

“We are very pleased with the way the Falcon 8X flight test program is progressing,” said Dassault chairman and CEO Eric Trappier, “All three aircraft have exhibited flawless handling and responded exactly as intended when designed.”