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Meet the aircraft
The Falcon 8X extends the 7X lineage through aerodynamic changes, engine optimization and additional fuel capacity. First deliveries took place in October 2016. The selected background reference covers the 7X and 8X, with figures labelled by model. The simulator listing records its product's development status.
Aircraft background
Wikipedia contributors · Read more ↗Learning the feel of an instrumented prototype
George encountered the 8X as a working test aircraft, with ballast tanks and instrumentation taking the place of a finished passenger cabin. Gérard occupied the right seat and Lascourrèges the jumpseat. He assessed handling during development in a test aircraft.
Business & Commercial Aviation · November 2015. Flight 92 of prototype S/N 1 at Istres, with Eric Gérard and Frédéric Lascourrèges; a qualitative handling evaluation during development.
Business & Commercial Aviation · Read more ↗Into the cockpit
YouTube Fly With Chip · 2 min ·
Dassault Falcon 8X: Cockpit View Landing & Window View Landing at Old Doha Airport
Cockpit and cabin-window views of a Falcon 8X landing at Doha.
Real aircraft · Dassault Falcon 8X
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Meet Dassault Falcon 8X
The Falcon 8X extends the 7X lineage through aerodynamic changes, engine optimization and additional fuel capacity. First deliveries took place in October 2016. The selected background reference covers the 7X and 8X, with figures labelled by model. The simulator listing records its product's development status.
Dassault Falcon 8X
Dassault → · Explore the family →
Dassault Falcon 8X
Wikipedia contributors · Dassault Falcon 7X ↗Aircraft type designators
Use the code for the model you are flying. The linked authority lists the applicable aircraft.
History & design
Bordeaux launches the 8X flight-test campaign
Dassault’s announcement dates the first flight to 6 February 2015 at Bordeaux-Mérignac. Eric Gérard and Hervé Laverne flew the first prototype, beginning the airborne phase of a programme whose remaining test and certification work lay ahead.
Dassault Aviation · Falcon 8X Completes First Flight ↗Contemporary manufacturer announcement
Development milestones
First flight: 7X: 5 May 2005 8X: 6 February 2015
Developed from: Dassault Falcon 900
Wikipedia contributors · Dassault Falcon 7X ↗Dassault Falcon 7X · family/variant named by the source · Wikipedia revision 1358586162
Systems & details
Approach figures depend on landing weight
Dassault quotes a 107 KIAS reference approach speed at typical landing weight. That condition belongs with the number: it is not a single approach speed for every weight and configuration. The 8X uses digital flight controls and three PW307D engines.
Pilot accounts
Learning the feel of an instrumented prototype
George encountered the 8X as a working test aircraft, with ballast tanks and instrumentation taking the place of a finished passenger cabin. Gérard occupied the right seat and Lascourrèges the jumpseat. He assessed handling during development in a test aircraft.
The first moments of taxiing required adjustment to the steering and brakes, which initially felt sensitive. Once flying, George appreciated the sidestick’s balance of pitch and roll forces and the feedback through his hand. His account follows the process of becoming comfortable with unfamiliar controls, keeping those personal impressions separate from the performance work still belonging to the wider test programme.
Business & Commercial Aviation · November 2015. Flight 92 of prototype S/N 1 at Istres, with Eric Gérard and Frédéric Lascourrèges; a qualitative handling evaluation during development.
Read the full account · Business & Commercial Aviation ↗A first flight brings a test pilot both pride and anticipation
Gérard and Laverne took the first Falcon 8X prototype into the air from Bordeaux-Mérignac for a flight lasting one hour and forty-five minutes. The programme included handling checks, system tests and a climb to high altitude before the crew returned to the departure airport. It was the beginning of the aircraft’s flying test campaign.
Gérard described the experience with pride, saying the flight had met its objectives and exceeded some of them. He felt honoured to participate and expressed confidence about the work ahead. Those remarks record the pilot’s reaction to a successful first outing; his optimism concerned a programme still to be completed, rather than an announcement that development or certification had already finished.
Dassault Aviation first-flight announcement · 6 February 2015. Gérard and Hervé Laverne flew together; this is one shared event, with Gérard’s quoted assessment.
Read the full account · Dassault Aviation ↗Simulator preparation meets a real traffic alert and an imperfect flare
A simulator session gave Thurber time to explore the 8X’s controls before flying the aircraft at Istres the next day. In the air, small sidestick movements soon felt comfortable, although steep turns were less tidy when he worked against the stick’s resistance. He became more familiar with the aircraft through the manoeuvres.
The return included his first actual traffic-collision avoidance resolution advisory, followed by a landing that needed correction after he began the flare too high. A little additional power helped produce a smooth arrival.
Aviation International News · January 2017. Actual flight in S/N 1 at Istres with Hervé Laverne and Philippe Deleume, following a separate simulator session at Le Bourget.
Read the full account · Aviation International News ↗In your simulator
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Manuals & resources
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Pilot account
Learning the feel of an instrumented prototypeBusiness & Commercial Aviation · November 2015. Flight 92 of prototype S/N 1 at Istres, with Eric Gérard and Frédéric Lascourrèges; a qualitative handling evaluation during development.
George encountered the 8X as a working test aircraft, with ballast tanks and instrumentation taking the place of a finished passenger cabin. Gérard occupied the right seat and Lascourrèges the jumpseat. He assessed handling during development in a test aircraft. The first moments of taxiing required adjustment to the steering and brakes, which initially felt sensitive.
Fred George
Business & Commercial Aviation · Read the source ↗A first flight brings a test pilot both pride and anticipationDassault Aviation first-flight announcement · 6 February 2015. Gérard and Hervé Laverne flew together; this is one shared event, with Gérard’s quoted assessment.
Gérard and Laverne took the first Falcon 8X prototype into the air from Bordeaux-Mérignac for a flight lasting one hour and forty-five minutes. The programme included handling checks, system tests and a climb to high altitude before the crew returned to the departure airport. It was the beginning of the aircraft’s flying test campaign. Gérard described the experience with pride, saying the flight had met its objectives and exceeded some of them.
Eric Gérard
Dassault Aviation · Read the source ↗Read the original documentation from the people who created it. Manuals open on their publisher’s website.
Aircraft background
Dassault Falcon 7XWikipedia contributors · Research background · retrieved 2026-09-12Product
Falcon 8XAerobask · Official developer / designated store catalogue · checked 2026-09-12Type designator
ICAO Doc 8643 — aircraft type designatorsInternational Civil Aviation Organization · Public search data retrieved 2026-09-14; authority update 2026-09-03Specifications
Falcon 8X specificationsDassault Falcon · Falcon 8X: manufacturer specificationsBuilt-in force-feedback profiles
Read the documentary basis, editable starting settings and remaining questions for the aircraft you fly. Each explanation refers to the exact profile revision shown.
Catalogue programme-20261022-v1 · 1 profile choice
Dassault Falcon 8X
Free and Pro · Revision 2 · Partial review
Aircraft reference · Manual starting point
Dassault Falcon 8X: The fixed-centre choice represents an electronic-control inceptor.
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