Dassault Falcon

The Dassault Falcon is a family of business jets, manufactured by Dassault Aviation. Nearly 2,400 jets have been delivered since 1963 and the first Falcon 20. In 2015 were produced the large cabin twinjet Falcon 2000 and Falcon 900 trijet, ultra long-range Falcon 7x and 8x and long-range Falcon 5x twinjet. Aircraft include:

Dassault Group

Dassault Group (French pronunciation: ​[daˈso]; GIMD, Groupe Dassault, or the Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault S.A.) is a France-based group of companies established in 1929 with the creation of Dassault Aviation by Marcel Dassault, and currently led by son Serge Dassault with cofounder and CEO of Dassault Systèmes Charles Edelstenne, and Dassault Aviation CEO Éric Trappier.

Subsidiaries

Falcon

A falcon (/ˈfɔːlkən, ˈfæl-/) is any one of 37 species of raptors in the genus Falco, widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica.

Adult falcons have thin, tapered wings, which enable them to fly at high speed and to change direction rapidly. Fledgling falcons, in their first year of flying, have longer flight feathers, which make their configuration more like that of a general-purpose bird such as a broadwing. This makes it easier to fly while learning the exceptional skills required to be effective hunters as adults.

The falcons are the largest genus in the Falconinae subfamily of Falconidae, which itself also includes another subfamily comprising caracaras and a few other species. All these birds kill with their beaks, using a "tooth" on the side of their beaks — unlike the hawks, eagles, and other birds of prey in Accipitridae, which use their feet.

Peregrine falcons have been recorded diving at speeds of 200 miles per hour (320 km/h), making them the fastest-moving creatures on Earth. Other falcons include the gyrfalcon, lanner falcon, and merlin. Some small falcons with long, narrow wings are called hobbies, and some which hover while hunting are called kestrels.

Dassault Falcon 900

The Dassault Falcon 900 is a French-built corporate jet aircraft made by Dassault Aviation. Together with its larger sibling, the Falcon 7X, they are the only trijets in production. Both aircraft are notable in featuring an S-duct central engine.

Development

The Falcon 900 is a development of the Falcon 50, itself a development of the earlier Falcon 20. The Falcon 900 design incorporates composite materials.

Improved models include the Falcon 900-B, featuring improved engines and increased range, and the Falcon 900EX featuring further improvements in engines and range and an all-glass flight deck. The Falcon 900C is a lower-cost companion to the Falcon 900EX and replaces the Falcon 900B. Later versions are the Falcon 900EX EASy and the Falcon 900DX. At EBACE 2008, Dassault announced another development of the 900 series; the Falcon 900LX incorporating High Mach Blended Winglets designed by Aviation Partners Inc. The same winglets are certified for the entire Falcon 900 series as a retrofit kit.

Business jet

A business jet, private jet, or bizjet, or simply B.J., is a jet aircraft designed for transporting small groups of people. Business jets may be adapted for other roles, such as the evacuation of casualties or express parcel deliveries, and some are used by public bodies, government officials or the armed forces.

History

1950s first flight

The Lockheed JetStar, seating ten passengers and two crew, first flew on 4 September 1957. 204 aircraft were produced from 1957 to 1978, powered by four 3,300 pounds-force (15 kN) Pratt & Whitney JT12 turbojet engines, then Garrett TFE731 turbofan for a 44,500 pounds (20.2 t) MTOW, then two General Electric CF700 turbofans.

The smaller, 17,760 pounds (8.06 t) MTOW North American Sabreliner first flew on 16 September 1958. Powered by two Pratt & Whitney JT12 turbojet engines then Garrett TFE731, more than 800 were produced from 1959 to 1982.

1960s first flight

The 25,000 pounds (11 t) MTOW British Aerospace 125 first flew on 13 August 1962, powered by two 3,000 pounds-force (13 kN) Armstrong Siddeley Viper turbojets. Its engine were replaced by Garrett TFE731, then Pratt & Whitney Canada PW300 turbofans. Almost 1,700 aircraft were produced between 1962 and 2013 after being marketed as the Hawker 800.