Dassault Falcon Service (DFS) recently completed the first scheduled C-check on a Falcon 7X, preparing the way for the start of routine overhauls on the trijet. C-checks are the largest scheduled maintenance events on the Falcon 7X and are due every eight years or 4,000 cycles, whichever comes first. The 7X entered service in 2007.

Although Falcon 7X fleet leaders have not quite reached this limit, DFS moved up the first inspection timeline slightly “to demonstrate and optimize the quality of the Falcon 7X overhaul process.” A second DFS 7X C-check—including a full cabin renovation, installation of an enhanced vision system and overhaul work—is already under way, with others scheduled to follow by midyear.

According to DFS, the aircraft involved in the initial C-check is seven years old and has 1,340 cycles. The inspection, carried out at the company’s Paris Le Bourget facility, also included renovating the interior, repainting the exterior and installing a satcom unit and onboard Wi-Fi system.

"All the expertise needed for C-checks—maintenance, engineering, customer support, spare parts, cabin refurbishment—is available right here at Le Bourget or at the nearby Dassault Aviation design office in Paris, permitting the quick reactivity operators demand in the overhaul process," said DFS general manager Jean Kayanakis.

The company has invested in preparing the 7X C-check program, including two dedicated hangars at Le Bourget that are staffed in double shifts. A second facility in Bordeaux-Mérignac that is set to open next year will be equipped to handle six aircraft simultaneously. It will also include a paint hangar.