Dassault Falcon Jets The Dassault Falcon brand is part of Dassault Aviation who designs, manufactures and sells both fighter jets and business jet aircraft. Dassault Aviation’s origins date back to 1915 when a young aeronautical engineer named Marcel Bloch developed a better airplane propeller. In 1936, he founded the Société Anonyme des Avions and for political reasons, changed his name to an alias and became Marcel Dassault. In 1954, Dassault established an electronics division to begin development of airborne radars, navigation systems and guidance technologies for air-to-air missiles and bombs. Throughout the 1950s to late 1970s, exports become a major part of Dassault’s aviation portfolio, including the Dassault Mirage fighter jet series and the Mystere-Falcon executive jet series. The Falcon Jet 20 actually began as the Mystère 20. In 1966, Pan Am became a distributor of the Mystere 20, but chose to give it a more suitable American and adapted the Fan Jet Falcon, which later simply became the Falcon Jet. When Pan Am faced financial difficulties, Dassault Aviation purchased its stake in Falcon Jet Corporation, becoming the sole owner. This gave Dassault a worldwide network of sales support and maintenance facilities. The Falcon designation took hold and led to a succession of jets; the Falcon 10, Falcon 50, Falcon 100, Falcon 200 and Falcon 900 and the newest Falcon Jet 2000. In the 1980’s, Dassault was early to embrace computer aided design for jet aviation manufacturing, investing heavily in robotics, composite materials and ultimately, developing computer software systems for in-house jet design & aircraft engineering. This became yet another subsidiary, Dassault Systèmes, which was established in the early 1980s to develop and market Dassault’s CAD program, CATIA. Dassault Systèmes become a market leader in this field. Dassault has four jet manufacturing facilities; Argenteuil, Biarritz, Merignac and Saint-Cloud. For over 50 years, the Mérignac facility has taken part in building over 7000 new aircraft, including 1600 Falcon Jets. This facility is dedicated to final assembly, test flights and aircraft delivery to civilian jet and military customers. In 1980, the Falcon 100 was announced as a follow-up to the Falcon 10 with an extra cabin window and electronic flight instruments as standard equipment. In 1984, the Falcon 900 is rolled out and flight-tested. Computer aided technology enabled Dassault to adhere precisely to initially projected weights and performance figures. On June 18, 1988, the 62nd Falcon 900 is presented at Dassault’s Mérignac production facility, becoming the 1000th Falcon built since 1965. The first of a new category of business jets, the Falcon 2000 is announced at the Paris Show and previewed at NBAA in 1989. Featuring the same cabin cross section as the Falcon 900, the slightly smaller Falcon 2000 will be powered by two CFE738 turbofan engines and will have an NBAA IFR range of 3000 nm at .80 Mach. In 1991, the Falcon 2000 is the first (and only) business jet to be selected for fractional ownership programs on three continents - North America, Europe and the Middle East. Following EJA’s initial order for NetJetsTM in the United States, follow-up orders were announced for NetJets Europe and a similar program owned by National Aircraft Services (NAS) in Saudi Arabia, whose aircraft will be operated by EJA and equipped to match the NetJets Falcons. Each of these orders has since been expanded, raising the total number of Falcons sold to fractional ownership programs to 60 by the year 2000. By 1993, the first Falcon 2000 takes to the air. It is the first airplane to be made from a digital mockup. A modified Falcon 900B with laminar flow wings is designed to demonstrate the performance of this drag-reducing technology in real-world operating conditions. This experimental wing uses a modified airfoil in combination with ‘layer stabilization’ - an approach based on Dassault’s pioneering studies in CFD (Computerized Fluid Dynamics). In 1994, the 4,500 nm Falcon 900EX (for EXciting performance, EXpanded avionics and EXtended range) is announced at the NBAA meeting in New Orleans. The first aircraft rolls out in 1995. In the same year, FAA certification of the Falcon 2000 is approved. This would mark the first time that the United States FAA approved a new business jet-type previously certified by the JAA. The Falcon 2000 becomes fully certified as a new Transport Category Aircraft type too. Soon after, Serge Dassault announces the development of an advanced Falcon 50 derivative called the Falcon 50EX, which differs from the Falcon 50 in engines and avionics but retains the same basic airframe. Major enhancements include climb capability and increased range. Dassault Falcon Jet Corp. is formed, replacing Falcon Jet Corporation. This change reflects closer ties between the Western Hemisphere subsidiary and the parent company. In 2002, the preliminary virtual design for the Falcon 7X is established to enable all manufacturing sub-contractors, regardless of their location, to have real-time access to a single shared database, creating a seamless collaborative process. The 3D digital mock-up of the Falcon 7X allows everyone involved in the program to visualize of all components. By 2005, the first Falcon 7X is complete and becomes the first airplane ever designed and built entirely in a virtual environment. The first Falcon 7X went together exactly as planned in about half the time required for previous programs. In 2006, the Falcon 7X flies for the first time. Numerous systems tests were performed and the flight was considered a great success. The Falcon 900LX was announced in 2008, built on the same platform as the Falcon 900EX, but featured winglets and a range extended to 4,800 nautical miles. Deliveries were scheduled for 2010 and will replace the Falcon 900EX. In 2009, Dassault Aviation reached a historic milestone with the delivery of the 2000th Falcon, the Falcon 2000LX. Click Here for News, Reviews, Images & Forums on Dassault Falcon Jets ***
