Falcon business jet sales are off to a good start this year, Dassault Aviation chairman and CEO Eric Trappier told a pre-EBACE press conference here yesterday. Three of the French manufacturer’s new Falcon 8X trijets are now involved in flight testing in a development program that is progressing as planned, and the French airframer is now preparing its other new model, the 5X twinjet, for a June 2 roll-out, followed by its anticipated first flight this summer.

After a strong 2014, during which 90 Falcon orders were logged, “2015 is starting on the same foot,” Trappier said. While the Falcon 7X is still the best seller, he also mentioned strong demand for the Falcon 2000 series in the U.S. “2014 was the turning point in the U.S. recovery; some companies that had been sitting on the fence are now replacing older aircraft,” added John Rosanvallon, Dassault Falcon Jet president and CEO.

Dassault has found that Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States, Brazil and China are not as dynamic as they used to be for Falcon sales. In Europe, fractional ownership, in particular, has not recovered, according to Rosanvallon. Dassault and NetJets have therefore terminated an order for 20 Falcon 7Xs that were to be delivered between 2016 and 2022. Trappier insisted that these negative indicators should not detract from an overall favorable picture in the aforementioned countries.

The third Falcon 8X flew for the first time on May 11. It will be used to test cabin equipment and soundproofing. The first prototype has opened the entire flight envelope, Trappier said, having flown as fast as Mach 0.96 and as high as 51,000 feet. Some high-energy braking trials have taken place, too, and Transport Canada has just certified its Pratt & Whitney Canada PW307D turbofan powerplant. Dassault is confident that the 8X is on track for certification in mid-2016.

Meanwhile, Dassault acknowledged that it is now facing the possibility that some delays in the development of the 5X’s Snecma Silvercrest engine could mean changes to the new type’s timetable. “Our engineering team is currently analyzing Snecma’s revised development plan and assessing the possible impact for the 5X program,” Trappier stated. The Silvercrest is now due to complete certification in the first half of 2016.

Snecma’s head of civil engines, Cédric Goubet, spoke at Dassault’s press conference and mentioned difficulties in modifying the company’s Gulfstream II flying testbed to take the Silvercrest test engine. Although the flight test campaign is now well under way in San Antonio, Texas, the issues have added several months to the project.

Moreover, a technical problem emerged on the oil-fuel heat exchanger. In the context of “a new, more stringent regulation,” the oil-fuel thermal balance fell slightly short of target, according to Goubet. A solution is being implemented but it needs new cast parts, which have long lead times.

Nonetheless, at Dassault’s Bordeaux factory the first Falcon 5X is proceeding with ground testing, including engine run-ups. In Toulouse, ongoing airframe static and fatigue tests have cleared the aircraft for flight testing.

The new combined vision system, which merges infrared and synthetic vision sensors, is being tested at Dassault’s flight test center. It will be certificated first on the 8X and 5X and then will likely be applied to future Falcon programs too, said Olivier Villa, Dassault’s senior vice for civil aircraft.