Dassault Set to Deliver 500th Falcon 900

ORLANDO, Florida, October 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Dassault Falcon's 500th Falcon 900, a Falcon 900LX, is in final assembly in Bordeaux-Merignac (France), marking yet another significant milestone for one of the world's most popular families of business jets.

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This Falcon 900LX, which will initially serve as a demonstration aircraft, is scheduled to be handed over in early summer 2013. 20 Falcon 900LXs have been delivered since the latest version of the storied large cabin tri-jet line was certified in July 2010.

Originally conceived in the 1980s, the Falcon 900 was the first - and remains - the only airplane in its class with a three-engine design, which offers unmatched airport performance and margins of safety, especially on long, over-water flights.

The Falcon 900 features a comfortable cabin width of seven feet eight inches and a cabin height of six feet two inches. Standard layout permits three seating areas and a large baggage compartment accessible while in-flight. The roomy proportions of its cross section became so popular it was adopted on the Falcon 2000 family and the all-new Falcon 7X.

"The Falcon 900 family has thrived for so many years because of its versatility, comfort, performance and fuel efficiency," said John Rosanvallon, President and CEO of Dassault Falcon. "The interior has always been highly regarded as one the most spacious and comfortable in its class."

Since its first flight in September 1984, the Falcon 900 has accumulated over 2.6 million flight hours.

About the Falcon 900LX

The 4,750 nm Falcon 900LX flies 4,750 nm non-stop. It can connect Paris with Beijing, Hong Kong with Riyadh, Moscow or Sydney, Washington with Sao Paulo, Dubai with Tokyo and Caracas with Geneva.

Built on the Falcon 900EX EASy platform, the Falcon 900LX features a pair of High-Mach blended winglets that help reduce aircraft drag as much as 5%. The winglets help make the Falcon 900LX the most efficient airplane in its class, with a fuel burn up to 40% lower than other aircraft in its class. They also reduce climb to cruise time - at Maximum Takeoff Weight (MTOW), the Falcon 900LX can reach FL390 (39,000 feet) in just 20 minutes - and contribute to short-field performance.

In March 2012, the aircraft received FAA approval for steep approaches, allowing it to operate with approach angles of up to six degrees, instead of the three degrees used most commonly. This approval made the Falcon 900LX, like other Falcons, both FAA and EASA compliant for operations at London City Airport, one of the most challenging for steep approach.

The Falcon 900LX is equipped with Dassault Falcon's second-generation EASy II flight deck, which was approved for the aircraft in June 2011. EASy II brings a number of cutting-edge options to the cockpit, including synthetic vision, automatic descent mode, XM graphical Weather and ADS-B Out. It also includes two novel communications features, FANS 1A and CPDLC, compliant with Europe's new data link mandate.

The Falcon 900LX is powered by the same art ultra-efficient and economical Honeywell TFE731-60 engines as the 900EX and earlier models.

About Dassault Falcon

Dassault Falcon is responsible for selling and supporting Falcon business jets throughout the world. It is part of Dassault Aviation, a leading aerospace company with a presence in over 70 countries across five continents. Dassault Aviation produces the Rafale fighter jet as well as the complete line of Falcon business jets. The company has assembly and production plants in both France and the United States and service facilities on multiple continents. It employs a total workforce of over 12,000. Since the rollout of the first Falcon 20 in 1963, over 2,100 Falcon jets have been delivered to 67 countries worldwide. The family of Falcon jets currently in production includes the tri-jets-the Falcon 900LX, and the 7X-as well as the twin-engine 2000LX, 2000LXS and Falcon 2000S.

SOURCE Dassault Falcon