What Dassault Aviation president Charles Edelstenne calls
"the first real 21st-century business jet" is in Orlando this week, although to
buy one you'll have to stand in line until late 2009, behind some 70 other
customers, all of them corporate. Flown only in May of this year, the latest
Falcon 7X is represented here by the No. 3 prototype, the endurance and cabin
comfort test bed, while the remaining pair continue their testing program in
southern France.
These trials include the "final stages of validating some
improvements," details of which will be made public shortly. It is no secret,
however, that the No. 1 prototype is currently flying with winglets, which may
be adopted as standard. Already, though, Edelstenne is prepared to offer an
"upgrade" to the promised 5,700-nmi range, which will be—apparently in some
nuance of the French language, lost in translation—"possibly nearly 6,000."
The current world fleet of 1,715 various Falcons continues
to expand, with this year set fair to be the first in which sales exceed 100.
Interestingly, according to John Rosanvallon, president and CEO of Dassault
Falcon Jet, where customers once came almost exclusively from the Fortune 500
listings, only 40% do so today.
¥ The Falcon 900DX is the latest upgrade of an existing
model, having flown in May. First delivery is imminent, following FAA
certification last Friday.
¥ The Falcon 2000DX is the next upgrade planned by Dassault,
adding 250 nmi, upgraded and more economical engines, and the EASy cockpit
interface to the Falcon 2000, beginning in early 2007.
¥ Feasibility studies are under way of a super-midsize
addition to the Falcon family, the company having "no position" on VLJs,
according to Rosanvallon.
¥ Dassault is still "working on a supersonic business jet,"
in that it is leading a European study group—Edelstenne says this airplane
"might appear in coming years" if engine technology and sonic boom hurdles can
be overcome.
¥ Having addressed the perception—long voiced in civil and
military fields—that Dassault is expensive for spare parts, the company has
established a customer feedback procedure "to correct any shortcoming they
point out to us."
