Start here
A few places to begin, from the aircraft’s story to the people who fly it.
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
Watch on YouTube ↗Preview images are served by AirframeDB. Videos open on YouTube only when you choose to watch.
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
No released simulator product is listed for this aircraft in the developers reviewed. Announced products are excluded.
Manuals & resources
Find your next read
Choose a topic for a short introduction and a link to the original source. Simulator references identify the developer and edition they cover.
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.
Dassault Falcon 8X
Dassault Falcon 8X: The fixed-centre choice represents an electronic-control inceptor.
Aircraft and manual starting-point scope
- Dassault Falcon 8X · Aircraft reference
Reference-only airframe identity; no released simulator implementation assigned.
The simulator model and controls
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.
This starting point selects Dassault Falcon 8X. Its aircraft-level settings do not select a particular developer’s custom systems.
How this profile feels
The fixed-centre choice represents an electronic-control inceptor. The spring stays independent of airspeed. Directed aerodynamic loading is omitted. Enabled travel curves shape pitch and roll resistance separately.
Aircraft trim is separate from the configured hardware centre. Aircraft trim retains the fixed hardware centre. Autopilot following is off.
Controls and trim
The Falcon 8X extends the 7X through aerodynamic changes, optimized engines and additional fuel capacity. Deliveries began in October 2016. Its electronic flight-control background belongs to this later aircraft, while the simulator’s development status is a separate product fact.
About the values
The gains are normalized profile settings. They describe the chosen effect balance; hand force depends on the device and its output limits. IAS references are tuning values rather than operating limits. Physical acceptance of this revision remains pending.
What the documentation establishes
Dassault DFCS backgrounder names Falcon8X within its digital-control family. This row remains an airframe reference; the Aerobask development page does not establish a released simulator target.
Documentary review and sources
These decisions describe the documentary basis and remaining gaps for this revision. Aircraft documentation and a starting setting describe different kinds of evidence.
Aircraft and variant
ReviewedThis starting point selects Dassault Falcon 8X. Its aircraft-level settings do not select a particular developer’s custom systems.
Flight controls
Not yet reviewedThe Falcon 8X extends the 7X through aerodynamic changes, optimized engines and additional fuel capacity. Deliveries began in October 2016. Its electronic flight-control background belongs to this later aircraft, while the simulator’s development status is a separate product fact.
Trim
Not yet reviewedAircraft trim is separate from the configured hardware centre. Pitch relief is off, with stored authority 0; roll authority is 0.
Autopilot and stability
Not yet reviewedAutopilot following is off; the configured spring and load retain the hardware feel. Separate neutral hold is on at strength 0.28, when a supported autopilot state admits it.
Equipment
Not yet reviewedGear, flap and ground cues follow the selected settings and available simulator-reported states.
Speeds and limits
Not yet reviewedThe indicated-speed references set the profile response scale; they are separate from aircraft operating limits.
Simulator integration
Not yet reviewedThe profile targets . Add-on-specific controls use only the supported references configured by this profile.
Force-feedback settings
Not yet reviewedThe settings define the profile’s effect balance. Device output limits affect physical hand force.
Starting settings and their rationale
These configured values are starting estimates. The explanations describe what each setting controls; physical validation appears separately below.
| Setting | Starting value | What it controls and why |
|---|---|---|
| Spring strength | Starting value0.55 | What it controls and whyThe fixed-centre choice represents an electronic-control inceptor. The baseline spring is 0.55. The electronic-control law keeps centering independent of airspeed. |
| Master force gain | Starting value0.85 | What it controls and whyScales overall profile strength while preserving effect balance, subject to device and output limits. |
| Profile force gain | Starting value0.04 | What it controls and whyThe stored 0.04 aerodynamic-load gain is inactive under the fixed-centre control law. |
| Force tuning speed/reference | Starting value270.0 kt | What it controls and whySets the IAS reference for aerodynamic loading. It is an estimate, not published cruise TAS or a flight limit. |
| Spring response reference speed | Starting value90 kt | What it controls and whySets the IAS where the low-speed blend reaches baseline strength; high-speed stiffening also uses it. |
| Aileron force scale | Starting value1 | What it controls and whyRoll and pitch aerodynamic scales are 1 and 1, respectively. These stored weights do not create directed aerodynamic loading while that term is inactive. The pitch spring-travel curve reaches output 1 at input 1. The roll spring-travel curve reaches output 0.3 at input 1. Spring-travel response contributes separately to axis balance. |
| Elevator force scale | Starting value1 | What it controls and whyScales pitch aerodynamic loading; pitch spring travel and trim responses are separate settings. |
| Trim feel | Starting valueDisabled | What it controls and whyRetained for compatibility and group membership. Trim relief, rather than this flag, controls centre movement. |
| Trim relief | Starting valueDisabled | What it controls and whyAllows trim relief with supported control law and valid telemetry. Axis authorities set its amount. |
| Autopilot follow | Starting valueDisabled | What it controls and whyAutopilot following is off; the configured spring and load retain the hardware feel. Separate neutral hold is on at strength 0.28, when a supported autopilot state admits it. |
| Autopilot neutral hold | Starting valueEnabled | What it controls and whyPermits centering hold during a supported AP state, separate from following a moving target. |
| Output force limit | Starting value0.55 | What it controls and whyCaps directed-force output. Native spring effects and device limits remain separate. |
All 49 starting settings and their rationale
The settings define the profile’s effect balance. Device output limits affect physical hand force.
| Setting | Starting value | What it controls and why |
|---|---|---|
| Spring strength | Starting value0.55 | What it controls and whyThe fixed-centre choice represents an electronic-control inceptor. The baseline spring is 0.55. The electronic-control law keeps centering independent of airspeed. |
| Spring deadband | Starting value0.01 | What it controls and whySets travel around the centre before the baseline spring resists. Smaller values engage it sooner. |
| Starting centering force | Starting value0.03 | What it controls and whyThe centre preload is 0.03. It ramps outside the 0.01 deadband across 0.05 travel, shaping the passive centre independently of aircraft autotrim. |
| Center Starting Force Transition | Starting value0.05 | What it controls and whySets the travel used to ramp in centre preload. Wider intervals make its onset more gradual. |
| Profile force gain | Starting value0.04 | What it controls and whyThe stored 0.04 aerodynamic-load gain is inactive under the fixed-centre control law. |
| Master force gain | Starting value0.85 | What it controls and whyScales overall profile strength while preserving effect balance, subject to device and output limits. |
| QBlend Enabled | Starting valueDisabled | What it controls and whyAllows baseline spring strength to rise with indicated airspeed where the control law permits it. |
| QSpring Minimum Factor | Starting value0.5 | What it controls and whySets low-speed spring strength as a fraction of baseline when blending is enabled. One keeps full strength. |
| QSpring Start Knots | Starting value20 kt | What it controls and whySets the IAS where the low-speed spring blend starts rising. This is a feel threshold, not a flight limit. |
| Spring response reference speed | Starting value90 kt | What it controls and whySets the IAS where the low-speed blend reaches baseline strength; high-speed stiffening also uses it. |
| Force tuning speed/reference | Starting value270.0 kt | What it controls and whySets the IAS reference for aerodynamic loading. It is an estimate, not published cruise TAS or a flight limit. |
| Airspeed spring stiffening gain | Starting value0 | What it controls and whyAdds permitted spring resistance above the full-blend speed. Zero removes this high-speed increase. |
| Airspeed spring stiffening limit | Starting value5 | What it controls and whyLimits the squared airspeed ratio used for high-speed spring stiffening; it is not a device-force cap. |
| Aileron force scale | Starting value1 | What it controls and whyRoll and pitch aerodynamic scales are 1 and 1, respectively. These stored weights do not create directed aerodynamic loading while that term is inactive. The pitch spring-travel curve reaches output 1 at input 1. The roll spring-travel curve reaches output 0.3 at input 1. Spring-travel response contributes separately to axis balance. |
| Elevator force scale | Starting value1 | What it controls and whyScales pitch aerodynamic loading; pitch spring travel and trim responses are separate settings. |
| Output force limit | Starting value0.55 | What it controls and whyCaps directed-force output. Native spring effects and device limits remain separate. |
| Travel Enabled | Starting valueEnabled | What it controls and whyApplies the configured pitch and roll spring travel curves. |
| Output | Starting value1 | What it controls and whySets response at the second pitch-curve point; it is an endpoint only if its input position is full travel. |
| Output | Starting value0.3 | What it controls and whySets response at the second roll-curve point; its input position and other points determine the travel law. |
| Trim feel | Starting valueDisabled | What it controls and whyRetained for compatibility and group membership. Trim relief, rather than this flag, controls centre movement. |
| Trim relief | Starting valueDisabled | What it controls and whyAllows trim relief with supported control law and valid telemetry. Axis authorities set its amount. |
| Elevator Authority | Starting value0 | What it controls and whyAircraft trim is separate from the configured hardware centre. Pitch relief is off, with stored authority 0; roll authority is 0. |
| Aileron Authority | Starting value0 | What it controls and whyScales supported roll-trim relief and permitted centre movement. Zero removes roll response. |
| Force Trim Enabled | Starting valueDisabled | What it controls and whyEnables local force trim, separate from aircraft-owned trim and add-on integration qualification. |
| GLoad Enabled | Starting valueDisabled | What it controls and whyAllows load-factor changes to modify permitted spring laws. Passive fly-by-wire feel can suppress it. |
| Rate Damping Enabled | Starting valueDisabled | What it controls and whyEnables rate damping with the configured coefficients and control law. |
| Autopilot follow | Starting valueDisabled | What it controls and whyAutopilot following is off; the configured spring and load retain the hardware feel. Separate neutral hold is on at strength 0.28, when a supported autopilot state admits it. |
| Autopilot follow authority | Starting value0.05 | What it controls and whySets admitted AP-follow gain, not a percentage of travel. Runtime ownership and input limits still apply. |
| Autopilot neutral hold | Starting valueEnabled | What it controls and whyPermits centering hold during a supported AP state, separate from following a moving target. |
| Autopilot neutral hold strength | Starting value0.28 | What it controls and whySets admitted AP neutral-hold strength; inactive while neutral hold is disabled. |
| Enabled | Starting valueEnabled | What it controls and whyEnables aerodynamic cues; each still needs nonzero strength and its simulator conditions. |
| Gain | Starting value0.06 | What it controls and whySets stall-buffet strength. Zero removes the cue without changing simulator stalls or warnings. |
| Gain | Starting value0.06 | What it controls and whySets high-Mach buffet strength; onset and full-strength thresholds are separate. |
| Gain | Starting value0 | What it controls and whySets flap buffet at the configured position and speed gates. Flap movement texture is separate. |
| Maximum flap index | Starting value3 | What it controls and whySets the final flap index for detent normalization. UP plus three detents uses maximum index3. |
| Minimum flap index | Starting value2 | What it controls and whySets the first flap detent that admits buffet; this is a handle index, not degrees. |
| Gain | Starting value0 | What it controls and whySets gear aerodynamic buffet; movement and ground-contact cues are separate. |
| Shaker Enabled | Starting valueDisabled | What it controls and whyPermits shaker at supported warning conditions; the switch does not establish aircraft equipment. |
| Stick shaker amplitude | Starting value0.5 | What it controls and whySets triggered shaker strength; inactive while the shaker feature is disabled. |
| Enabled | Starting valueDisabled | What it controls and whyEnables ground effects; each still needs its own strength and contact or motion telemetry. |
| Gain | Starting value0 | What it controls and whySets rolling texture strength, modified by speed, surface and undercarriage configuration. |
| Gain | Starting value0 | What it controls and whySets gear-bump texture during ground motion, separate from touchdown impact. |
| Gain | Starting value0 | What it controls and whySets landing-impact strength; landing telemetry and response shape determine the pulse. |
| Gain | Starting value0 | What it controls and whySets reverse-thrust vibration with valid reverser and engine conditions. Zero removes the cue. |
| Enabled | Starting valueDisabled | What it controls and whyEnables engine cues with nonzero settings and valid running-engine telemetry. |
| Gain | Starting value0 | What it controls and whySets estimated engine vibration using configured telemetry and response, not measured cockpit vibration. |
| Enabled | Starting valueEnabled | What it controls and whyEnables accessory cues with configured strengths and observed accessory movement. |
| Gain | Starting value0 | What it controls and whySets texture from observed flap movement; a command without movement does not establish the cue. |
| Gain | Starting value0 | What it controls and whySets texture from observed gear movement, separate from aerodynamic and touchdown effects. |
Limits and open questions
- Controls, trim, autopilot, equipment details, speeds and force calibration remain unreviewed.
Physical validation
No physical force validation is recorded in this public catalogue for this revision. Documentary review and software checks do not establish how a particular device feels.
Discuss this aircraft (0)
Questions, observations and useful sources from the community.
No published discussions yet. Bring a question or share a useful source.
Open aircraft discussions →Content expanded · What’s new
Something missing or a source that needs attention?
Suggest a correction ↗
