Body of Bizjet, soul of Rafale: Dassault Aviation starts production of Falcon 10X

In the run-up to the start of EBACE 2022, Europe’s premier business aviation event, Dassault Aviation announced that parts production for the new ultra-long-range Falcon 10X are already underway and final assembly of the first aircraft will begin next year.

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With the detailed design complete, production and assembly of the twin-engine is being prepared at facilities in Europe and North America, including a new smart manufacturing plant at Seclin in northern France.

A new production hall in Biarritz, in southwestern France, will be dedicated to the aircraft’s composite wing. A first wing is in final assembly and will be placed on a static test platform this summer.

See Also: Dassault unveiled the Falcon 10 X: executive body, Rafale soul.

«We are making excellent progress in the production of this new aircraft, and the coming months will see an ever-increasing flow of parts, subsystems and large structures at our facility in the south of France,» said Eric Trappier, president and CEO of Dassault Aviation. «With the help of the world’s leading suppliers, the Falcon 10X will be the most advanced and capable aircraft in business aviation,» he added.

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Dassault claims that the 10X will have the largest cabin of all business jets specially designed for that role (differentiating it from corporate versions of commercial aircraft), along with the most flexible and «homey» interior. It also defines it as a «flying penthouse» with its height of 2.03 meters, width of 2.77 meters and 78.73 m3 of volume.

Range will be 7,500 nautical miles (13,900 km) at Mach 0.85 and top speed will be Mach 0.925.

The 10X’s range will allow flights from South America to the Middle East or New Zealand in comfort. Photo: Dassault Aviation

The first of the Pearl 10X engines that will power the 10X was recently tested on a test stand at Rolls-Royce’s facility in Dahlewitz, Germany, exceeding its target thrust level in the first test.

Rolls-Royce has already conducted 1,000 hours of testing of more than 18,000 pounds of thrust, including runs on 100 percent sustainable jet fuel. The Pearl 10X will be certified for 100 percent SAF.

Rafale-based multi-systems 

Other highlights of the test include the installation of a multisystem integration bench, complete with subsystem computers, at Dassault’s flight test facility in Istres, near Marseille.

A single smart throttle will serve as the main power control, connecting both engines to the digital flight control system that will automatically manage the power of each engine as needed in different flight scenarios.

Thanks to Dassault’s FalconEye combined vision system, the first to offer enhanced and synthetic vision capabilities, combined with two HUDs capable of serving as primary flight displays, the 10X will be able to operate in near-zero visibility/ceiling conditions.

A state-of-the-art digital flight control system, derived directly from Dassault’s latest military technology, will provide an unprecedented level of precision and flight protection, including a new one-button recovery mode.

This multi-system bench, along with individual benches for fuel systems, electrical systems, hydraulics and flight controls, Dassault says, will serve to ensure that all systems are fully tested and mature when the 10X takes off.

The Falcon 10X is scheduled for certification and entry into service by the end of 2025.