Pic : © Dassault Aviation – M. Douhaire
Dassault Aviation’s all-new Falcon 10X successfully completed its first flight on June 19, demonstrating the maturity of the program and marking the official launch of its flight-test campaign.
“This inaugural flight is another milestone for Dassault,” said Chairman and CEO Eric Trappier. “It reflects the dedication and high skill of our engineering, production, and flight teams, and the quality of our global network of partners.”
Test Pilot Sébastien Dupont de Dinechin and co-pilot Fabrice Dougnac took off from runway 23 at Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport at 11:10 a.m. for a two-hour and 30-minute flight. During the mission, the crew evaluated handling qualities and onboard systems at 15,000 feet, before retracting the landing gear and all movable surfaces and climbing to 40,000 feet, where the aircraft accelerated to Mach 0.82. The flight concluded with a smooth landing back at Bordeaux-Mérignac at 1:40 p.m.
“Today’s flight was the culmination of years of work by thousands of Dassault employees and partners,” commented de Dinechin.
“It paid off in a flight that went as planned and was a delight to fly.”
The first aircraft will soon be joined by a second test aircraft, currently nearing completion, and a third aircraft, which is being fitted with a full interior and will be used primarily for systems testing, as well as cabin functionality and reliability evaluations.
Dassault Aviation’s dual expertise in both civil and defense aviation continues to be one of the company’s long-term strengths and a key contributor to the development of advanced aircraft programs such as the Falcon 10X.
