Dassault Falcon Jet (Booth C11808; SD) arrives at NBAA with a trio of its large-cabin jets—the flagship Falcon 8X trijet, Falcon 2000S, and Falcon 900LX—but the star of its static display is the full-size cabin mockup of the in-development Falcon 6X twinjet. The airframer calls it “the first ultra-widebody” and says the 6X will offer the largest cabin cross-section (8.5-feet wide and 6.5 feet tall) of any purpose-built business jet.

A follow-on to the planned Falcon 5X—canceled due to problems certifying the Snecma Silvercrest engine that was to power the jet—the 6X was introduced in February 2018, yet is already well along its certification path.

Options for configuring the extra- wide cabin include an expanded aft lounge area, larger forward galley, or crew rest area. Thirty windows—the biggest on any Falcon—are complemented by a cabin skylight—another business aviation first, according to Dassault—while the cool, uncluttered interior hides compartments for stowing mobile phones and tablets, along with retractable chargers and message signage visible only when illuminated.

In addition to the more expansive cabin, the 6X’s 5,500-nm range is a 300-nm boost over the 5X’s projected numbers. Top speed is Mach 0.90, and powered back to Mach 0.85, the 6X can link Los Angeles and London, New York and Moscow, or Paris and Beijing while maintaining a 3,900-foot cabin altitude at 41,000 feet.

Development Well Underway

While NBAA attendees admire the interior mock-up, assembly of the first 6X testbed is well underway, accelerated by the program’s reliance on a Digital Mock-Up (DMU) that allows global collaboration in real time, and virtual integrated systems testing.

“Whether you’re talking of design, manufacturing, logistics, or support activities, the DMU is central in our processes,” said Dassault’s senior v-p, of civil aircraft, Carlos Brana.

With designers, suppliers, and maintainers sharing the same reference through the DMU, Dassault has been able to identify and address issues early in development. System-specific physical integration benches are still used to debug individual aircraft systems (for flight controls at Dassault Centers of Excellence in St. Cloud, near Paris; for final integration in Istres, near Marseilles; and for cabin interiors and related systems in Little Rock, Arkansas), but traditional “iron bird” airframe mockups don’t discover integration problems early enough in the development cycle, Brana said, making a DMU essential.

In addition to advances in the cabin, the flight deck features a new-generation enhanced fly-by-wire digital flight control system (DFCS), which now incorporates electrically driven flaps, and added flaperons, “opening more capabilities regarding control of the aircraft,” Brana said. (Dassault is also demonstrating at its chalet the FalconEye Combined Vision System, which it claims is the first head-up display to combine synthetic and enhanced-vision systems.) Meanwhile improved access to batteries and other aircraft systems will reduce maintenance time and costs.

Development is proceeding “full throttle” at Dassault’s Biarritz, France facility, where the aft section of the 6X fuselage, perhaps the most complex portion of the aircraft, is assembled, while fuselage-panel production in Argenteuil, and wing panel manufacturing at Seclin are underway.

Engine Development

The Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) PurePower PW812D ("D" for Dassault) engine that will power the 6X has accumulated more than 1,000 hours on a P&WC test bench in Montreal using five development engines. In May, Dassault Aviation chairman and CEO Eric Trappier said, “The PW812D engine program continues to achieve milestones in line with the initial program plan.”

Collins Aerospace is in charge of the engine nacelle’s design, integration, and production. With its recent acquisition by UTC, Collins is now a sister company to P&WC, simplifying the arrangement and allowing Dassault “to take advantage of specialization,” Brana said. Dassault has previously either developed its own proprietary engine nacelles or contracted with their engine OEMs to provide them.

Meanwhile, critical design review is complete and the supply chain is moving, with manufacture of long cycle parts—spars, large wing panels, and forged metal components among them—in progress, according to Dassault. Aircraft #1 is scheduled to begin taking shape early next year at the company’s Bordeaux-Mérignac final assembly site, and by year’s end wings and fuselage will be ready for mating. First flight of the 6X is scheduled for early 2021, and entry into service the following year.