Dassault on Tuesday gave a first look at its new Falcon 10X, a long-range business jet it has positioned to compete with luxury offerings from its main competitors in North America.
The company unveiled a parked 10X at its production hall in Bordeaux-Mérignac, France, in front of more than 400 customers, business partners, and aviation industry representatives. The aircraft is set to enter flight testing soon, officials said.
The 10X will have a top speed of Mach 0.925 and a maximum range of 7,500 nm, allowing it to operate popular city pairs such as New York-Shanghai, Los Angeles-Sydney, São Paulo-Dubai, and Beijing-Paris.
The new fuselage comes with 38 extra-large windows, nearly 50 percent larger than those on the Falcon 8X. The cabin measures 9 feet, 1 inch wide and 6 feet, 8 inches tall and can be configured into three- or four-zone interiors, with space for a large dining room, fully private suites, full-sized bedrooms, and even an optional shower installation.
The jet will have a cabin altitude of 3,000 feet while flying at 41,000 feet, officials said, with 100 percent fresh air pumped in.
The aircraft is powered by Rolls-Royce Pearl 10X engines and features an all-composite wing and NeXus flight deck, which Dassault described as the most advanced cockpit ever installed on a business jet. The flight deck integrates large touchscreen displays, automation tools, a standard dual FalconEye Enhanced Vision System, and the third generation of the company’s digital flight control system.
The 10X is expected to compete with Bombardier’s Global 7500 and 8000 and Gulfstream’s G700 and G800.
“The objective is to allow passengers to experience time on board the aircraft as just another part of their everyday life, not as a long interval between origin and destination,” Dassault president and CEO Eric Trappier said in a news release. “So they arrive feeling refreshed and at their very best.”
