Just months after killing off plans for the Falcon 5X following the ongoing failure of the Safran Silvercrest engine, French manufacturer Dassault Aviation has unveiled the Falcon 6X, featuring many of the design attractions of the 5X but with a larger cabin and more powerful engines.
The new 5,500 nm aircraft was unveiled in Paris this morning and will make its first flight in early 2021 and begin deliveries in 2022.
Pratt & Whitney Canada’s Pure Power PW800 engines have been selected to power the aircraft which offers more cabin volume than any other Falcon ever designed.
The 6X is largely based on the Falcon 5X aerodynamics and system features which were validated during the 5X preliminary flight test programme. It has been optimised to take advantage of the new engine, offering a greater range and a longer cabin.
Higher, wider
“The industry has been moving towards ever wider and higher interiors, and customers told us what they wanted most in our new Falcons was more space,” said Dassault CEO Eric Trappier. “So we designed the Falcon 6X from the cabin out, making it as passenger-centric as we could while still delivering the high performance and other flying qualities that customers value in Falcons.”
The 6X will have top speed of Mach 0.90 and a maximum range of 5,500 nautical miles (10,186 km), and can fly directly from Los Angeles to Geneva, Beijing to San Francisco or Moscow to Singapore at long range cruise speed. It can also connect New York to Moscow, Paris to Beijing or Los Angeles to London at a cruise of Mach 0.85.
Noise suppression
The aircraft also comes with noise suppression systems, based heavily on experience with the new Falcon 8X – claimed by the company to be the current benchmark in noise comfort – and an all-new cockpit and third generation EASy III all digital flight deck.
It will be delivered with a full package of equipment, including Dassault’s FalconSphere II electronic flight bag and the revolutionary FalconEye Combined Vision System – the first head up display to combine enhanced and synthetic vision capabilities.
The Falcon 6X is equipped with an ultra-efficient wing that minimises the impact of turbulence and a next-generation digital flight control system that controls all moving surfaces, including a novel control surface called a flaperon. The 6X is the first business jet to use a flaperon, which considerably improves control during approach, especially on steep descents.
