With remarkable speed, the Falcon 5X has been re-imagined and now emerges as the bigger and better Falcon 6X. The new aircraft addresses the same market as the Falcon 5X but justifies its new title by offering quite a bit more. At the formal launch in Paris on February 28, Dassault’s Chairman and CEO, Eric Trappier explained: “We wanted to further push the boundaries with this new aircraft to provide the best flight experience possible using today’s know-how. This strategy has been endorsed by our customers and, while some 5X orders have been switched to other Dassault models such as the Falcon 7X or 8X, we are very confident that others will be willing to wait until the Falcon 6X is ready. Indeed, we already have purchase contracts under discussion with several clients.” Having flown the Falcon 5X prototype with Silvercrest test engines, Dassault has made progress in verifying the aerodynamic characteristics of the aircraft – but finding a new powerplant was not so easy. The Silvercrest turbofans offered a combination of light weight, performance and fuel efficiency unmatched by any competing engines. Fortunately, a solution is at hand with Pratt & Whitney Canada’s well established PurePower PW800 which has accumulated over 20,000 test hours and has a reputation for maintainability and reliability. Yet it’s not as simple as just hanging new engines on the existing 5X airframe. Whereas the Silvercrest was an 11,450lbst engine, the PW812D proposed for the Falcon 6X is in the 13,000-14,000lbst category and is larger and heavier. 98
According to Dassault’s Senior Vice President, Civil Aircraft, Olivier Villa, “We want to maximize the use of the Falcon 5X technology but the new engines mean we must redesign and strengthen various parts of the fuselage, particularly around the pylon area”. The Falcon 6X also has a longer 84 ft. 3in fuselage (compared with 82ft 7in for the Falcon 5X) with an addition ahead of the wing allowing for a 20-inch increase in cabin length and an additional belly fuel tank. Also introduced to the pressurized tank system is an OBIGGS active inerting system which reduces the danger of fuel ignition by injecting nitrogen into the empty tank spaces. Quite apart from the structural changes to the fuselage, there are also revisions to the highly efficient Falcon 5X wing which has been redesigned to minimize the effects of turbulence and enhance the safety of the aircraft’s operations. The structural architecture has been changed and the already complex arrangement of control surfaces (including three leading edge slats and a curved trailing edge with flaps and airbrakes) has been further enhanced with the addition of flaperons – not used before on a business jet. These can work as flaps or ailerons and they are claimed to improve control during approaches, particularly with steep descents. Because of the aircraft’s fly-by-wire systems these surfaces are automatically deployed using the Falcon’s next generation digital flight control system. From the passenger’s perspective, Dassault