Aircraft Overview: Dassault Falcon 6X
Aircraft Overview: Dassault Falcon 6X
Announced on Feb. 28, 2018, the Falcon 6X is a twin-engine business jet produced by French manufacturer Dassault Aviation.
At the time of that announcement, the airframe manufacturer stated that “the 6X is largely based on the Falcon 5X aerodynamics and system features which were validated during the 5X preliminary flight-test program.”
The Falcon 6X was rolled out on Dec. 8, 2020, and made its first flight on March 10, 2021, a flight that was performed by Falcon 6X Serial No. 01, registered as F-WSIX.
The type was certified by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on Aug. 22, 2023, and entered service just over three months later on Nov. 30, 2023.
Cabin
The Falcon 6X accommodates up to 19 passenger seats in a cabin that has a height of 6 ft. 6 in., width of 8 ft. 6 in., length of 40 ft. 4 in. and volume of 1,843 ft.3, with the cabin length and volume both “excluding [the] flight deck and baggage.”
Although it is certified to carry 19 passengers, Dassault markets the cabin as able to accommodate a maximum of 12 to 16 passengers.
Other cabin specifications include a 3,950-ft. cabin altitude at 41,000 ft. and a 155-ft.3 baggage volume, with the cabin also able to be configured to include a crew rest area, rear stateroom and Privacy Suite.
Avionics
Pilots operate this Dassault type using the company’s fourth-generation Enhanced Avionics System (EASy) IV flight deck, which is based on Honeywell’s Primus Epic integrated avionics system.
The features of that avionics system include the standard FalconEye combined vision system (CVS), which Dassault noted was the first head-up display (HUD) that can combine “into a single view” terrain imaging that is “synthetic [and] database-driven” with “actual thermal and low-light camera images.”
Required navigation performance authorization required (RNP AR) instrument approaches “down to 0.1 nm” are also possible with the EASy IV, with that capability being beneficial when conducting approaches to “runways affected by either terrain or high-density air traffic.”
Furthermore, the 6X’s flight-control surfaces are “command[ed]” by the Digital Flight Control System (DFCS), which “harmonizes control inputs around the aircraft’s three axes, augmenting pitch and roll dampening, as well as yaw stability.”
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Variants
Powering the Falcon 6X are two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW812D turbofan engines that, when compared to the “current generation,” improve emissions, fuel burn and noise by double digits, in addition to providing operators with better operating costs and the ability to utilize sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
Assuming sea-level altitude and standard conditions, the takeoff and maximum-continuous static engine limits of the PW812D are 13,850 lb. and 12,989 lb., respectively.
The Falcon 6X’s wing is “optimized for both high-and low-speed performance,” and the airplane’s flaperons—a control surface that can perform the functions of both ailerons and flaps—substantially increase control during takeoff and landing, particularly when conducting steep approaches.
According to Dassault, another operational benefit of the Falcon 6X is its ability to “land at 85% of its maximum takeoff weight [MTOW],” with the respective MTOW and maximum landing weights being 77,500 lb. and 66,200 lb.
Mission and Performance
According to the FAA type certificate data sheet (TCDS) for the Falcon 6X, the type’s operational limitations include a maximum operating Mach number (MMO) of 0.90 Mach and maximum operating altitude of 51,000 ft.
When carrying eight passengers, three crew and National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) instrument flight rules (IFR) reserves—as well as flying at 0.80 Mach and assuming International Standard Atmosphere (ISA) conditions, sea-level altitude and no wind—the airplane’s range is 5,500 nm.
However, the Falcon 6X’s range is decreased slightly to 5,100 nm when it is flown at 0.85 Mach. Also based on ISA conditions—in addition to the type’s MTOW and sea-level altitude—the takeoff distance (balanced field length) is 5,115 ft.
The airframe’s 2,440-ft. unfactored landing distance assumes ISA conditions, sea-level altitude and a landing weight that is typical, while an approach speed—reference landing speed (VREF)—of 110-kt. indicated airspeed (KIAS) is also possible at such a landing weight.
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