Dassault Aviation’s new flagship, the Falcon 8X, also made its debut. Since first taking to the air last February, the three aircraft in the flight test programme have accumulated 380 flight hours over 185 flights, and are now more than twothirds of the way towards FAA and EASA approval. The flight envelope has been fully opened and s/n 01 recently reached a speed of Mach 0.97. The portion of the programme dedicated to certification, including take-off and landing performance and validation of the aircraft’s third-generation EASy flight deck, is also advanced.

Derived from the popular Falcon 7X and featuring many of its industry leading technologies, the ultra-long range Falcon 8X (6,450 nm/11,945 km) was unveiled in May 2014 at the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition and rolled out on December 17 of the same year. It will offer the greatest range and the longest cabin of any Falcon and the largest selection of cabin configurations in the industry.

Dassault Aviation Chairman and CEO Eric Trappier said: “We anticipate certification by mid-2016, on schedule, with initial deliveries to follow in the second half of the year.”