By Ellfian Rahim
Unless one’s a bona fide aviation enthusiast, perhaps the fact that French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation marking the 60th anniversary of its first business jet, the Mystère 20, may have just escaped you. After all, the aircraft was, in fact, later rebranded the Dassault Falcon 20 to slightly complicate things. But the Dassault Falcon’s subsequent success in the US, beginning at the start of the 1970s, rapidly attracted buyers from entrepreneurs, government agencies, and even the armed forces of several nations.
Today, Dassault continues to build sleek and technologically advanced aircraft under the same family, including the Falcon 6X and 10X, which have received prestigious interior design awards. The Falcon 6X is set to enter service this year, while the 10X is in the early stages of assembly. Dassault has sold more than 2,700 business jets in the six decades since the Mystère 20’s first flight in 1963.
The Peak spoke to Carlos Brana, the Senior Executive Vice President of Dassault’s Civil Aircraft Division. Brana is a four-decade veteran of the company and has closely overseen the Dassault Falcon programme since 2005. He shares unique insights about one of the most outstanding business jets ever built.
Carlos Brana, Senior Executive Vice President of Dassault’s Civil Aircraft Division.
The Peak: You’re responsible for defining and implementing global strategy for the Falcon aircraft sales and customer service activities, among others. Has your work been made easier by the fact that the aircraft you represent is such an icon?
Carlos Brana: Perhaps in the US and Europe, we don’t have to explain the merits of business aviation, because there are buyers there who have always flown on business jets. But in Asia, many people are new to business aviation. That is both a challenge – in terms of aircraft sales – and also an opportunity. Fortunately, promoting the Falcon aircraft is easy when you believe in the product. To overcome the challenge of newcomers to this business, the key is understanding the needs of the customer. Our customers are business leaders and high-net-worth individuals. Once we have an understanding of their needs – in terms of their travel needs – we can then explain very clearly how the Falcon business jet is a time-saving machine that can best meet their requirements.
Can you run through some key milestones that the Falcon nameplate has achieved in the field of business aviation as it celebrates its 60th anniversary?
As you already know, our very first business jet was the Falcon 20, which had its maiden flight on 4 May 1963. This aircraft flies like a jet fighter, because its swept wing is based on the design of a military fighter wing. The next milestone was development of our trijets – the Falcon 50, followed by the Falcon 900. These aircraft, due partly to its trijet configuration, have tremendously short take-off and landing capability.
The Falcon 50 first flew on 7 November 1976 and is a super-midsize business jet, featuring a trijet layout with an S-duct air intake for the central engine. The Falcon 900, which first flew on 21 September 1984, has a longer and bigger fuselage, and is powered by more powerful engines. It was also the first Dassault business jet to have FalconEye, a combined vision system that combines enhanced vision with synthetic vision, giving pilots greater situational awareness.
The Falcon 2000 twinjet, which first flew on 4 March 1993, was the first business jet that Dassault Aviation designed using CATIA, a design software that we created. CATIA is now the main software used by design engineers around the world, in industries as diverse as aerospace, shipping, automotive and so on. The Falcon 2000 was also the first business jet to have a head-up display (HUD), a technology derived from military fighters.
Finally, the Falcon 7X, which had its first flight on 5 May 2005, was the first business jet to have a full fly-by-wire system: the Digital Flight Control System (DFCS). This key technology actually improves the aircraft’s handling and performance. We are the only business jet manufacturer that develops its own DFCS as this is a technology derived from our fighter jets.
Dassault Falcon 8X
What are the key differences between the current production Dassault Falcon 8X, compared to the Falcon 20 from the 1960s?
Technology has been improved based on the needs of our customers. From the Falcon 20 through to the Falcon 8X and Falcon 10X, we have achieved many breakthroughs in technology and performance. Nowadays, our jets are more cost-efficient and digitalised. As mentioned, we’ve introduced the CATIA design software, the first HUD, the first full DFCS and the FalconEye combined vision system. Our cabin design is also recognised the world over, having won prestigious product design awards, including the Red Dot Award.
The company’s heritage of integrity and excellence has helped us to be successful over the past 60 years. Dassault Aviation is primarily a military aircraft manufacturer, but our founder Marcel Dassault and his son Serge, who spearheaded the establishment of the Falcon business in the early 1960s, were visionaries. They recognised even back then that business aviation – which had barely started at that time – would become a significant segment of the global aviation industry.
We have always invested in innovation and technology to an extraordinary level, so we can be the best in everything we offer our customers.
The current Falcon 8X is designed to fly over 11,000km, with a payload of eight passengers and three crew. How has this changed the dynamics of business aviation?
With the globalisation of economy, the need for longer-range airplanes has emerged. The Falcon 8X provides a unique combination of long range, speed, fuel efficiency, flexibility, quietness in the cabin and passenger comfort. All perfectly balanced to create a flying experience that exceeds the expectations of the most demanding customers. We look at the Falcon 8X as a game changer in that regard.
Are we right in assuming that Dassault has newer, even longer-ranged aircraft in the pipeline?
Yes, the Falcon 10X is due to enter service in 2025 and is set to be the longest-ranged purpose-built business jet ever. It will have a range of 7,500 nautical mile (13,890km), enough to fly non-stop from Kuala Lumpur to London. There’s also the Falcon 6X, which can fly non-stop to anywhere in Asia Pacific and the Middle East from Kuala Lumpur, at a cruising speed of 0.85MACH (1,049.58km/h) and a maximum altitude of 15,500m. When it enters service, the 6X will have the largest cabin cross-section of any purpose-built business jet, and will only be surpassed in size later by the future Falcon 10X.
The Falcon 6X is poised to set a new standard in the business aviation industry for cabin spaciousness and comfort. This is important because you need more comfort to feel rested and refreshed when you arrive at your destination. The 6X’s cabin design has already won two international design awards, including the Red Dot ‘Best of the Best Award’.
The Falcon 2000LXS is Dassault’s most popular model in Malaysia.
What makes the Falcon 7X and Falcon 8X so ideally suited to Malaysia?
Both have outstanding short take-off and landing capability. Many airports in Malaysia, especially in East Malaysia, have short runways. There are a number of businesspeople and high-net-worth individuals who are based in East Malaysia in places like Kuching, Sandakan and Kota Kinabalu. If they were to fly on commercial, they would have to first fly to Kuala Lumpur and then connect to another flight to their destination. With a business jet, however, they can fly direct from East Malaysia to their destination, making it more convenient.
How important is the South-East Asia region, and especially Malaysia, to Dassault Aviation?
South-East Asia is relatively new to business aviation, but it has great potential and large room for growth. We chose Malaysia as our regional headquarters because of its central location within the Asia Pacific region and because Malaysia has a highly skilled and qualified workforce. Dassault Aviation’s subsidiary, ExecuJet MRO Services, is building a new aircraft maintenance centre at Subang Airport to serve the Asian region. To operate that facility, we need qualified and experienced maintenance technicians and engineers, talent we can readily find in Malaysia. Having a high-level of aircraft maintenance and customer support in-region is very important to customers when they are assessing which aircraft to buy.
Could you walk us through some of the key trends in the field of private and business aviation in the past few of years?
With regards to aircraft, customers want more comfort, which translates into larger cabin aircraft. They want to feel the spaciousness of the cabin. We are fulfilling this need with our new Falcon 6X and 10X, which will have the largest passenger cabins of any purpose-built business jet. As for the region, the South-East Asia business aviation market has been growing well. There are more businesses – from China, for example – investing in South-East Asia, so that too is fuelling demand for business aviation in this region.
Was the COVID pandemic perhaps a key motivator for people to seriously reconsider private aviation as a means for more worry-free air travel?
Prior to the pandemic, there were people who could afford to fly on business jets but – for various reasons – didn’t. Then, the pandemic hit and suddenly many re-evaluated their travel arrangements. As commercial airline operations largely ground to a halt, private business aviation continued to operate. People were also wary about travelling on commercial airliners because there’s more contact with people. Travelling on a business jet has fewer ‘touch points’ because you choose who travels with you. You also board from private jet terminals instead of crowded commercial airports.
What’s your most popular jet model in this part of the world, and especially here in Malaysia?
The Falcon 2000LXS is the most popular model in South-East Asia, including Malaysia. It has sufficient range to fly non-stop from Kuala Lumpur to most parts of Asia Pacific, and it has tremendously short take-off and landing capability, using runways as short as 1,200m. Many businesspeople in South-East Asia are mostly flying within the region, so the Falcon 2000LXS suits their needs.
We chose Malaysia as our regional headquarters because of its central location within the Asia Pacific region and because Malaysia has a highly skilled and qualified workforce.
Range and comfort are important factors, but so is the ability to land at any airport. Is this why the Falcon 8X jet was developed to need minimal runway space?
The challenge was designing a large-cabin, long-range and comfortable aircraft that could also land and take-off from challenging airports, including those with short runways. Our Falcon 8X has excellent short-field performance, steep approach angles and strong climb-out gradients. This flexibility allows the 8X to access airports that other large business jets are unable to. The reason is because our aircraft are lighter than comparable sized aircraft. The maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of the 8X is only 73,000lb (33,112kg), whereas our competitor’s aircraft are close to 100,000lb (45,360kg). We achieved the lower weight by optimising the aircraft’s design and using materials that are both strong and light. The wing is also equipped with efficient high lift devices that significantly improve take-off and landing speed.
How does the current Falcon compare to its competitors in terms of fuel consumption?
The Falcon 8X is up to 20% more fuel-efficient than any other comparable sized aircraft. This is because our aircraft are lighter and more aerodynamic. Falcon aircraft can also operate on a blend of up to 50% sustainable aviation fuel. Also, the Falcon 10X – which is powered by Rolls Royce Pearl 10X engines – will be able to operate on 100% SAF (sustainable aviation fuel) when the aircraft is certified in 2025.
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