Dassault Aviation Launches Falcon 6X Business Jet

Dassault Aviation released details on its newest business jet, the Falcon 6X, during a day-long technical briefing today. The latest model is a replacement for the 5X, a project canceled due to multiple delays in the development of its proposed Safran Silvercrest engines. The 6X will have Pratt & Whitney Canada PW812D (“D” for Dassault) engines. The 13,000- to 14,000-pound-thrust PW800 family has logged more than 20,000 test hours. It has also been selected to power the Gulfstream G500, with the PurePower PW814GA, and the G600 with the PW815GA.

“I had no choice to stop the 5X program and find the best possible engine,” chairman and CEO Eric Trappier told reporters gathered in the company’s large Le Bourget hangar, where he unveiled a large model of the new 6X. He revealed that in 2015/2016 Dassault engineers began developing a Plan B for the Falcon 5X when the Silvercrest engine began experiencing problems with its high-pressure compressor. As the troubles intensified, the company took the opportunity to design an aircraft with more range and more space. Olivier Villa, Dassaults senior v-p of civil aircraft, told AIN, “We talked with Pratt & Whitney Canada, and they modified their engine somewhat for us. And we adapted the airplane to match the engine.”

The engines are far from the only change. The new twinjet will have a 20-inch-larger cabin, enabling either a larger aft lounge area or a choice of larger forward galley or a crew rest area. The 6X will also have a 300-nm range increase over the 5X (to 5,500 nm), and first deliveries are scheduled for 2022. As for commonality with the 5X, Villa said, “Much of the systems architecture will be retained—the fly-by-wire system is one step beyond that of the 8X—and there will be some commonality in the cockpit and the empennage. But otherwise, it is a thorough redesign.” Courtesy of Aviation International News.