Falcon 7X splish-splashes closer to certification
Calculation and theory go only so far in an aircraft development program, and last month it was time for Dassault’s Falcon 7X S/N 003 to jump in and get it
JA Air Center at Chicago-area Aurora Municipal Airport placed first in AIN’s 2013 FBO Survey for the Americas. The facility garnered a 9.5 rating out of a possible 10.

Calculation and theory go only so far in an aircraft development program, and last month it was time for Dassault’s Falcon 7X S/N 003 to jump in and get its feet wet. The new trijet completed contaminated-runway testing at Cranfield Airport, UK, by performing 12 runs through 20 mm of water. Said Falcon chief test pilot Philippe Deleume, “We had no water ingestion during any of the tests, including max reverse thrust.” The type has flown 850 hours toward certification early next year.