The Dassault Falcon 5X made its first flight on 5 July 2017. It was completed using prototype engines with full-fledged flight testing with the production engines to begin in 2018. Dassault selected the Snecma Silvercrest engine for the 5X, a new engine to the private jet industry from a large engine manufacturer in the airline segment. The engine development has experienced a number of setbacks causing significant delays to the 5X program. The purpose of this initial flight was to give a sense of accomplishment to the program and to help streamline the development process for the 5X.
The Falcon 5X will be Dassault’s widest and tallest cabin to date. Of particular note is that the 5X is a twin engine aircraft, where Dassault has historically had three engines on their long range jets.
Once certified with the new engines, this will be an exciting aircraft and competitor in the heavy jet market. It brings a number of new technologies to Dassault’s aircraft and will set a new standard for cabin comfort. This flight should encourage owners and those in the industry that Dassault is on the right track to getting their new jet up and running in the near future.
