Falcons advance bizjet state of the art

Falcon jets are produced by Dassault Aviation (Paris, France) in Saint-Cloud and Bordeaux, with final assembly at the Bordeaux-Mérignac plant. The Falcon 5X is its largest business jet (5,200 nautical mile range, Mach 0.90 top speed and a 2m cabin height, the tallest in business aviation), yet offers the lowest fuel consumption in its class — up to 50% greater efficiency on short flights than its peers.

Composites are not new to Falcon aircraft. The Falcon V10 F featured the first carbon composite wing to obtain FAR/JAR 125 qualification in the 1980s. The top-of-the-line Falcon 7X is roughly 20% composite, including a vertical stabilizer made using an advanced resin transfer molding (RTM) technique that combines prepregs with direct processing, using noncrimp multiaxials. A new carbon-composite/cast-titanium horizontal stabilizer structure is used for all Falcon models. It reduces part count by 90% and fasteners by more than 65% while increasing strength, reducing production costs and facilitating maintenance vs. a conventional aluminum airfoil.