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Falcon 7X
Rossiya Falcon 7X in May 2010.
Role	Business jetType of aircraft
Manufacturer	Dassault Aviation
First flight	5 May 2005
Status	In production
Produced	2005-present
Number built	200+

The Dassault Falcon 7X is a large-cabin, long range business jet manufactured by Dassault Aviation, the flagship offering of their business jet line. It was first presented to the public at the 2005 Paris Air Show.

Development

The aircraft has over 200 orders to date. It has received its type certification from both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on 27 April 2007. The first 7X, MSN05, entered service on June 15, 2007; the hundredth was delivered in November 2010.

In 2001, the Falcon 7X, at approximately $35 million (pre-production order price), was nearly $10 million cheaper than its nearest competitors in the long range, large cabin market segment, the Gulfstream G550 and Bombardier Global Express. Its 2007 cost was $41 million. As of 2008, the approximate unit cost of the 7X is $50 million (which was no longer less expensive than the Global Express, at $40M).

Design

It is the first fully fly-by-wire business jet. It is also equipped with the same avionics suite, the Honeywell Primus Epic "Enhanced Avionics System" (EASy), that was used on the Falcon 900EX and later on the Falcon 2000EX.

The Falcon 7X is notable for its extensive use of computer-aided design, the manufacturer claiming it to be the "first aircraft to be designed entirely on a virtual platform", using Dassault Systemes' CATIA and PLM products.

It is also unusual in having an S-duct central engine, and is one of only two trijets currently in production, the other being the Dassault Falcon 900. It was also the first production Falcon jet to offer winglets.

In February 2010, Dassault Falcon and BMW Group DesignworksUSA were awarded the 2009 "Good Design” award by The Chicago Athenaeum and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design for their successful collaboration on the new Falcon 7X interior option.

Grounding

EASA grounded the Falcon 7X fleet after a report from Dassault Aviation regarding “an uncontrolled pitch trim runaway during descent” in one of its jets in May 2011. "This condition, if occurring again, could lead to loss of control of the aeroplane," the EASA notice said. Initial results of investigation showed that there was a production defect in the Horizontal Stabilizer Electronic Control Unit which could have contributed to the cause of the event. Dassault Aviation developed modifications in June 2011 to allow a return to flight.

Operators

Civil operators

 Saudi Arabia

• Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia private aviation - SPA) has a fleet containing the four most recent Dassault Falcon 7X models.

  

Government and military operators

 Ecuador

A Falcon 7X was purchased by the Ecuadorian Air Force (FAE) to aid in long distance travel to the presidential aircraft, an Embraer Legacy 600. Its identification number is FAE 052. The aircraft was delivered November 4, 2013 and had its first official trip November 25, 2013.

 France

Two Falcon 7X were bought by the French government to serve in the ETEC unit responsible for the air transport of the government members. Being used primarily by then-president Nicolas Sarkozy, the first shipped airplane was nicknamed "Carla One" by the French newspapers, in reference to Carla Bruni, then French First Lady.

 Monaco

Albert II, Prince of Monaco - 1. Since 2013.

 Namibia

Namibian government - 1.

 Nigeria

Nigerian Air Force - 1.

 Belgium

Abelag Aviation

Specifications

Data from Flight 2007 Pocket Guide to Business Aircraft ISBN 0-9554195-0-6

General characteristics

• Crew: Up to three
• Capacity: Up to 19 passengers (not including crew)

Performance Avionics

• Falcon EASy and EASy 2

See also

Related development

• Dassault Falcon 900
• Dassault Falcon 5X
• Dassault Falcon 8X

Similar aircraft

• Bombardier Global Express
• Embraer Lineage 1000
• Gulfstream G450
• Gulfstream G550

References

1. Deagel.com news. "Falcon 7X Gets Full EASA and FAA Type Certification", April 27, 2007. Accessed 6 February 2009.
2. "Falcon 7X enters service". Flight Daily News. June 18, 2007.
3. "Dassault scores a century with 7X". Retrieved 2010-11-28.
4. "Falcon 7X Trades Unwanted Range For a Price Tag Lower by $10 Million". Business & Commercial Aviation. 2001.
5. Murdo Morrison (2007-05-02). "Onboard the 7X..." Flight International.
6. J. Mac McClellan (2008-09-28). "Falcon 7X". Flying Magazine.
7. Bombardier Global 5000 - Sitting pretty, Flight International Magazine, 7–13 October 2008, p.49
8. "http://www.aerospace-technology.com/projects/dassault-7x/"
9. "Falcon 7X Jet Becomes First Aircraft Entirely Developed on Virtual Platform", edmpdm.de, 24 May 2004.
10. http://www.bmwblog.com/2009/05/15/bmw-designworks-creates-the-interior-cabin-of-the-new-falcon-7x-business-jet/
11. http://www.dassaultfalcon.com/en/MediaCenter/Newsd/Pages/PR%202010/Dassault's-Falcon-7X-BMW-Interior-Option-Wins-Design-Award.aspx
12. Sarsfield, Kate (26 May 2011). "EASA grounds Dassault Falcon 7X after pitch trim incident". Flight Global. flightglobal.com. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
13. "EASA Grounds All Dassault Falcon 7X Executive Jets". WSJ.com. 2011-05-26. Retrieved 2011-06-18.
14. "Falcon 7X Fleet Grounded By EASA". Aviation Week. 2011-05-27. Retrieved 2011-06-18.(subscription required)
15. ""Flight Controls – Horizontal Stabilizer Pitch Trim Runaway –Suspension of Flight Operations" EASA AD No. 2011-0102-E" (pdf). EASA. 2011-05-26. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
16. "Flight Controls — Horizontal Stabilizer Pitch Trim — Suspension of Flight Operations / Modification / Operational Limitations EASA EAD 2011-0114-E" (pdf). EASA. 2011-06-16. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
17. "Dassault Develops 7X Modification". Aviation Week. 2011-06-15. Retrieved 2011-06-18.(subscription required)
18. "Dassault says Falcon 7x is now back in the air". Reuters. 2011-06-16. Retrieved 2011-06-18.
19. "Le Falcon 7X de Nicolas Sarkozy fait des vols d'essais". 2009-07-15. Retrieved 2011-03-06.
20. "Voici "Carla one", le nouvel avion de Sarkozy". Le Parisien. 2009-07-10. Retrieved 2011-03-06.
21. "Le nouvel avion de Nicolas Sarkozy". Le Point. 2009-07-09. Retrieved 2011-03-06.
22. "Prince of Monaco takes delivery of new Falcon 7X". Retrieved 2013-10-20.
23. "Government defends new Falcon". Retrieved 2013-09-21.
24. "Falcon 7X (5N-FGU) Nigerian Air Force". Retrieved 2013-09-21.

External links

Official website

• Dassault aircraft
• French business aircraft 2000–2009
• Low-wing aircraft
• Trijets