Dassault Falcon 8X

Overview & History

The Dassault Falcon 8X is the flagship aircraft for Dassault Falcon, the civilian sector of Dassault Aviation – the French aeronautics corporation.

The Falcon 8X was announced in May 2014 at the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition.

The 8X is based on Falcon 7X, with the 7X being derived from the Falcon 900 platform, with improvements to the interior, exterior and performance.

With the prototype first flying in February 2015, with the first customer Falcon 8X being delivered in October 2016.

Perhaps one of the most striking elements of the 8X is the three-engine propulsion system, with Dassault Falcon being the only business jet manufacturer to produce three engine aircraft.

Dassault Falcon 8X Performance

The Falcon 8X is powered by three Pratt & Whitney Canada PW300 engines, each producing 6,722 lbf of thrust (20,166 lbf total).

With over 12 million hours of proven, highly reliable operation, you can be sure that the PW300’s will not let you down.

The PW300’s are able to power the Falcon 8X to a maximum cruise speed of 488 knots, with a total range of 6,450 nautical miles, and a maximum cruising altitude of 51,000 feet.

This range makes the 8X easily capable of flying from Europe to North America, South America, Asia or to any location in Africa.

The 8X requires just 5,910 feet of runway for take-off at its maximum take-off weight of 73,000 lbs and 2,240 feet for landing, meaning that not only can it access London City Airport, but it is also able to access more than 500 airports in the US compared with its competitors.

Despite having one extra engine that its competitors, the 8X up to 35% more fuel efficient than its competitors, reducing overall operating costs.

In order to ensure a super smooth ride, the 8X wing takes advantage of more moving control surfaces, including three leading edge slats, three airbrakes and two flaps.

Dassault Falcon 8X Interior

The cabin of the Falcon 8X is a truly special place to be.

With a maximum capacity of 16 passengers, there are over 30 different layouts that can be optioned on this aircraft.

This can be configured to your exact specifications (or if chartering will depend on their configuration), but a common layout is to have 14 seats across the three sections of the cabin, allowing for 6 fully flat beds.

Being the longest cabin of any Dassault Falcon in the sky (13 metres long to be precise), every center metre of the cabin is used efficiently and is claimed by Dassault to be the industry’s most flexible cabin.

With a maximum cabin altitude of just 6,000 feet and being able to maintain a cabin altitude of 3,900 feet when cruising at 41,000 feet, this is much lower than you will find on any airliner and most other business jets.

This, combined with the exceptionally quiet cabin noise level of just 49 dB, will ensure that you can work, relax or sleep in the most comfortable environment possible and that you arrive at your destination as fresh as possible.

Featuring the FalconCabin HD+ cabin management system you have control over the environment from anywhere in the cabin (even if you are lying in bed).

If you opt for the Skybox you can store iTunes video and music on the server which can be accessed wirelessly throughout the cabin.

The options for layout in this cabin go above and beyond any other business jet on the market.

With three extra feet than the 7X to play with, you will be surprised with how much extra space is available.

Why not option for the three-lounge cabin with a shower in the rear and a crew rest are in the front?

Or maybe you want a shorter entrance way so that you have more lounge space.

Perhaps a large entrance way in order to accommodate a spacious, lie-flat crew quarters and a larger galley in order to enjoy gourmet meals while you are in the sky.

Cockpit

Upfront features a completely redesigned cockpit with state-of-the-art avionics.

The Falcon 8X features the new generation of the EASY flight deck, featuring an optional wide-screen head-up display.

This HUD integrates enhanced and synthetic vision resulting in vastly improved situational awareness in low-visibility conditions.

Known as FalconEye, it was certified in 2018 for approaches under low visibility up to 100 feet.

2020 will produce a new configuration which will feature dual head-up displays.

Additionally, the 8X features Honeywell’s next-generation 3D color weather radar system with enhanced turbulence detection capability.

Combined with the high altitude that the 8X can fly at means that you will stay away from the bad weather, leading to an exceptionally smooth flight.

Dassault Falcon 8X Charter Cost

The estimated cost to rent a Falcon 8X is $11,250 per flight hour.

This price is on par with that of the competition, such as the G650.

Purchase Price

The price for a new Dassault Falcon 8X is $58 million in the base configuration.

Of course, you will be adding options to the aircraft (FalconEye, Shower, etc), so the price is likely to creep up to over the $60 million mark.

Considering the level of customisation available and the capabilities of the aircraft, this is an exceptionally reasonable price.

In terms of the pre-owned market, there are not a large number of Falcon 8X’s for sale.

If you can find a used Falcon 8X the price will be around $50 million.

Featured Image: Matti Blume, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons