Aviation International News
January 2015
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Dassault unveils Falcon 8X by Thierry Dubois of testing conducted in the preceding months. Ground testing of flight controls, vibration and the fuel system concluded in November, and engine run-ups took place in early December. “The program is right on schedule,” said Olivier Villa, senior v-p for civil aircraft. DAVID McINTOSH
On December 17, Dassault unveiled the Falcon 8X ultra-long-range business jet, keeping the program on time for a first flight in the first quarter, probably in February. The event took place in an assembly hall at the Bordeaux Mérignac factory, gathering customers, operators, industrial partners and representatives of certification authorities in an atmosphere that mixed “prestige, passion for aviation and the French touch,” as the organizers put it. The Falcon 8X’s key features are its 6,450 nm range and its cabin, which is 3.5 feet longer than that of the Falcon 7X. As recently as six days before the ceremonial dinner the aircraft shown was still in the paint hangar, and at 6 a.m. the following morning it was undergoing modifications as a result
Final Validations Pending
Results of the December ground runs prompted Dassault to devise a series of minor modifications that will be implemented by January. Many of the systems will receive final validations from their respective manufacturers, which are tasked with performing testing such as vibration, electromagnetic interference and lightning, Frédéric Petit, vice president for Falcon programs, told AIN.
BUSINESS AVIATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST The 2014 edition of the Middle East Business Aviation show topped numbers from the previous show in 2012, reporting 44 aircraft on static display, 422 exhibitors and 7,863 attendees. What the industry needs in the region now, according to representatives, is a receptive regulatory environment n and the infrastructure to support growing traffic.
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Replenishing the caucuses
DASSAULT FALCON
by Kerry Lynch
The wraps were taken off the first Falcon 8X inside an assembly hall at Dassault’s Bordeaux Mérignac factory.
Rep. Sam Graves believes one of his first and most pressing tasks in the new Congress will be to rebuild the membership of the General Aviation Caucus. The elections cost the seats of a number of members of both the House and Senate caucuses, while others retired or switched chambers. The House went down about 30 members from its high of 254, while the Senate lost about seven members from 41. “My first challenge is getting the numbers back up,” Graves told AIN. At 224, the number of caucus members returning to the House is still safely past the “magic” number necessary for a majority. But Graves
Special Report
Avionics
Government
Rotorcraft
Newsmakers 2014
Cockpit avionics in the age of NextGen
Users pick up slack in FAA budget
EC175 delivered
As the new year begins AIN takes a look back at the events and people who shaped business aviation in the last 12 months. Page 20
Upcoming mandates will bring business aviation into the NextGen era, and pilots need to train today to prepare themselves for tomorrow’s operating environment. Page 47
The spending bill Congress passed for FY15 reduces the general fund contribution for the FAA and looks to users to pick up the slack. Page 3
Airbus Helicopters handed over the first EC175s to the first of three launch customers. All were scheduled to take aircraft by year-end. Page 54
knows that numbers will matter in an upcoming FAA reauthorization year that will be complicated by an overarching federal budget, sequestration and taxes debate. The Republican lawmaker from Missouri, one of GA’s staunchest Continues on page 43 u