Dassault Aviation recently delivered its 2,500th business jet, marking yet another landmark event in the storied saga of the Falcon line. The aircraft, a Falcon 900LX, was handed over at the Little Rock Completion Center to a longtime Falcon customer based in the United States.
The delivery represents a significant milestone for both the company and the Dassault Falcon line which has lead the industry in performance, comfort, economy and efficiency ever since the first Falcon was delivered in 1965.
In the half century since the legendary Falcon 20 introduced executives to business jet travel, operators around the globe have been attracted by the passion for excellence, quality and technological innovation reflected in the Falcon brand. A passion handed down by company founder Marcel Dassault and shared by the engineers, technicians, craftsmen who design, build and service Falcon aircraft.
With a generation of continuous improvements, Falcons have remained the industry standard, from the first Falcon 20 up to today’s new Falcon 8X ultra-long range trijet, which expands the range and size of the Falcon family while offering industry leading digital flight control and sound proofing capabilities. With the addition of the all-new Falcon 5X ultra wide body twinjet, set to enter the market in 2020, the Falcon line will cover the complete range of large cabin business aviation requirements, from super midsize on up.
”Over the half century it has been in operation, the Falcon fleet has amassed an amazing 17.8 million hours of flight time with some 1230 operators in 90 countries around the world,” said Eric Trappier, Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation. “Moreover, of the 2,500 Falcons delivered to date, more than 2,100 are still flying – which is a clear testimony to the high quality and robustness of our Falcon aircraft and the dedication of those that support them.”
Since 1965, Falcon jets have led the way in introducing new technologies to business aviation: the first supercritical wing, first head up display, first digital flight controls, first Product Life Cycle Management modeling system. And most recently, FalconEye, the first HUD with a combined enhanced and synthetic vision system capability which offers unprecedented safety and operating efficiency. And Falcon Sphere II integrated electronic flight bag suite, which sets a new standard in paperless cockpit operations.
Additionally, the Falcon line has been among the leaders in offering operators dependable round the globe 24/7 customer service. In addition to the network of 51 service centers, 100+ field reps and 15 spare parts centers with over $800 million in spares inventory, Dassault has pioneered in optimizing Aircraft-on-Ground support, notably through FalconResponse, with its first-of-a-kind alternative lift offering. Equipped with a pair of dedicated Falcon 900s based in the United States and Europe, FalconResponse has flown more than 300 missions since it was launched two years ago. More than 40% of FalconResponse missions make use of alternate lift.
