Dassault Falcon 5X Flies with 'Preliminary' Engines

The Falcon 5X made its first flight from Dassault’s Bordeaux-Mérignac final assembly facility recently, using a “preliminary version” of the Safran Silvercrest engines, as design issues have delayed their development. According to Dassault, the preliminary flight-test campaign will last only a few weeks to help streamline the development process. A full-fledged flight-test campaign with “certifiable engines meeting Dassault’s specifications” is scheduled to begin next year.

Test pilots Philippe Deleume and Philippe Rebourg were at the controls for the two-hour flight. The preliminary flight tests will permit Dassault to collect airframe and systems data that could not be generated during ground runs and low- and high-speed taxi tests conducted earlier this year.

“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.”