Mark Huber is an aviation industry veteran who has worked in the flight training, aircraft sales, aircraft component, and airport development businesses. He has flight time in more than 50 different and diverse aircraft, including helicopters, aerobatic aircraft, vintage warbirds, jet fighters, business jets and turboprops, and transport-category aircraft. He has jumped out of several of these—on purpose—with a parachute. His defense and aviation journalism has been published in a variety of national and international periodicals.

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Mark Huber

Dassault Falcon Jet (Booth 2651) launched a new AOG (aircraft on ground) response program at NBAA 2014 in Orlando, Fla., yesterday. The customer-support program will use two company-owned Falcon 900s as rapid-response aircraft; one based at Teterboro in New Jersey and the other at Le Bourget in France.

 


The Falcons will be used to transport Dassault Go Teams of technicians, parts and tools, and, if necessary transport customers to their destinations, while their aircraft is being serviced. Customers would be billed direct operating costs for these flights, which will be operated for the company by an independent operator under Part 135.

 


The French airframer also said that both the new Falcon 5X twinjet and 8X trijet programs are making substantial progress. The first 5X was assembled over the summer, powered up in August and has entered ground and vibration testing at Merignac. Engine run-up is expected by year end and first flight in the second quarter of 2015.

 


Certification of the 5X remains on track for 2016 and the company reported a two-year order backlog. The jet’s Snecma Silvercrest engines have accumulated 1,300 hours of bench testing without anomalies.

 


Meanwhile, the long-range Falcon 8X, with a maximum range of 6,450 nm, is on track for first flight early next year. Initial ground testing was completed in October. With a cabin 3.5 feet longer than that on the 7X, the 8X has space for 30 different cabin configurations. Deliveries are anticipated in the second quarter of 2016.

 


The company said it will continue to concentrate on the top end of the market, which represents 85 percent of new business jet transaction values, but did not have plans to pursue a supersonic design at this time, maintaining there is not enough customer demand for such an aircraft.

 


In addition to the rapid response aircraft, Dassault is embarking on various other service-related improvements, including: building a new 77,000-sq-ft MRO facility in Bordeaux, France; increasing the number of parts for “right-sizing” price reductions; significantly increasing its spare parts inventories; and hiring more service personnel.

 


Dassault noted that it currently has a 98.5-percent parts-availability rate–meaning that is the percentage of the time a customer receives parts on the day they are needed–and that in most cases parts pack and ship within 30 minutes to one hour of order placement.

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