Falcon 7X S/N 002 (F-WTDA) last month completed five days of cold-soak trials at Iqaluit and Resolute Bay in northern Canada. The snow was high and temperatures during the tests fell as low as -33 degrees C (-27 degrees F).

“Despite brutal weather conditions that included a blizzard during the third day of testing, the Falcon 7X performed well,” said Dassault Aviation senior chief test pilot Bill Kerherve. “We had no problems in starting or warming the aircraft. All systems and avionics came online quickly after start-up. Performance of the Pratt & Whitney Canada 307A engines was excellent.” The aircraft carried out high-speed taxi and aborted takeoffs on the gravel and packed-ice runway and made several landings in crosswinds of more than 20 knots.

To date, the Falcon 7X test program has accumulated 540 flight hours. The entire program will log close to 1,200 hours. Certification is expected early next year. Dassault said more than 80 “of the first purpose-built fly-by-wire business jet have been sold.”