New Flagship for Dassault

The FNX is the third ultra-long-range business jet to arrive on the scene. It will compete against the Gulfstream V (and its planned successor, the G-V-SP) and the Bombardier Global Express, both of which are in production.

While the G-V and Global are very similar airplanes, the FNX will offer its well-heeled customers an entirely different set of choices. The FNX, with a range of around 5,700 nm, won't have the legs of either North American jet; it won't be able to fly nonstop from Tokyo to New York. But it will be able to link together Paris and major U.S. West Coast cities; Paris and Tokyo; New York and all of Europe, as well as the Middle East and South America; and San Francisco and Moscow, for instance.

Unlike the jets from Bombardier and Gulfstream, the Falcon FNX will have the benefit of a third, tail-mounted engine, for added redundancy, freedom from potential oceanic twin-engine flight restrictions and improved short-field capabilities (better even than Dassault's own 900EX). Dassault hasn't yet selected an engine for the FNX, but it's considering the Honeywell AS 905 and the Pratt & Whitney PW 306, with a targeted total thrust of more than 18,000 pounds and TBOs of greater than 7,000 hours.

The FNX will be the fastest Falcon, with a projected MMO of Mach .90, which Dassault says will allow for regular day-to-day operations at Mach .85 or higher. The structure behind the speed is an all new composite and metal wing, which is longer and thinner, utilizing greater sweep and a higher aspect ratio. Despite this, the FNX will have an even lower VREF approach speed than the 900EX.

Other features include fly-by-wire flight control, a first for a Falcon, or any business jet, though Dassault has been building fly-by-wire fighter jets for 30 years. Dassault also will equip the Falcon FNX with the new Honeywell "Intuitive" flight deck that features a quartet of 14.1-inch displays and an intuitive graphical interface for reduced pilot workload and enhanced safety.

Dassault has not yet announced a firm price for the FNX, but it expects the jet to cost about 12 percent more than the $30 million 900EX, referenced to 2006 dollars, the year during which certification is anticipated.