Dassault Falcon 5X Flies With 'Preliminary Engines' As many of our readers will know, the Dassault 5X program has been hit by delays resulting from issues relating to the Safran Silvercrest powerplants that are due to power this aircraft. However, today a testbed Falcon 5X took to the skies powered by 'preliminary variants' of the Silvercrest engines. These will not be the final version of the engines that will be put through the certification program but because the delays with the engines the 5X program has been pushed back to 2020.
Dassault says, the preliminary flight-test campaign will last only a few weeks to help streamline the development process. They need test data that can only be achieved via flying and not ground testing hence the first flight earlier today. The flight lasted for around two hours. “We’re committed to limiting the consequences of the four-year engine development delay as much as possible and the short preliminary flight-test campaign is part of this effort,” said Dassault Aviation chairman and CEO Eric Trappier. “We will closely monitor the validation tests on the modified Silvercrest, which are scheduled by Safran in the few coming months, as their results will be critical for meeting the 5X entry into service in 2020.” For more information: Dassault Falcon Jet Corporation Teterboro Airport 200 Riser Road Little Ferry, NJ 07643 www.dassaultfalcon.com ***