Dassault Aviation’s new Falcon 6X is nearing initial assembly as the ultra-wide body twinjet continues progressing smoothly towards its scheduled first flight in 2021 and entry into service in 2022.
The front, main and rear fuselage sections of the first aircraft are now complete and are scheduled to be assembled at Dassault’s factory in Biarritz, France later this month. The wing, currently being assembled in nearby Martignas, is due to be joined to the fuselage at Dassault’s Bordeaux-Mérignac facility early next year.
“Everything has been proceeding according
to plan. The design was frozen earlier this year and the manufacturing
process is well underway,” said Eric Trappier, Chairman & CEO of Dassault
Aviation. “Dassault Aviation and our global partners have the collaborative
digital tools in place to continue to meet the benchmarks that were established
when the program was announced.”
Development of the
Falcon 6X’s Pratt & Whitney Canada PW812D engine is also proceeding on schedule.
The production PW812D together with the integrated nacelle from United
Technologies Corp will be mounted on the Pratt & Whitney Canada Flying Test
Bed for the next upcoming flight test campaign.
The PW812D has completed high-risk certification tests, which include bird strikes, hot/cold weather trials including ice, and lost fan blades. The six development engines have accumulated more than 1,200 hours testing and run time. In all, the P&WC geared turbofan (GTF) core at the heart of the Dassault-specific PW812D has logged more than 14,000 hours on the bench.
Main aircraft systems including Honeywell third-generation EASy III all-digital avionics, hydraulic, braking, air, water, and electrical systems are being validated on a multi-system test bench in Istres near Marseille and are also on track for timely delivery. Digital flight control system bench testing in Saint-Cloud, near Paris, is progressing on schedule as well.
