Today, Dassault is known for making some of the best business jets currently for sale. For the longest time, the Dassault Falcon 900 has been among these jets, often leading them from the front!
Dassault were among the first aircraft manufacturers to produce business jets, producing the Dassault Mystère 20. The Mystère 20, otherwise known as the Falcon 20, is often cited as one of the best and first business jets!
Development
Since the 1960’s, Dassault had developed some of the leading business jets of its day, starting with the immensely successful Dassault Falcon 20. In the 1970’s, it had released the Dassault Falcon 50, which sold even better than the Falcon 20!
However, the late 1970’s had yielded a number of newer, faster and larger business jets. Many of these jets, such as the Cessna Citation III and the Learjet 35, were not only cheaper to buy, but cheaper to operate too.
As such, many North American customers who would’ve otherwise bought the Falcon 50, instead, started buying Citation IIIs and Learjet 35s. Dassault realized this, and understood that it needed to produce a better aircraft.
Dassault chose to use the Falcon 50’s design as a base, as it had done with the Falcon 20, when it designed the Falcon 50. Here, they lengthened the fuselage by two meters (6 1/2 feet).
Since the introduction of the Falcon 50, many of Dassault’s customers had asked for an interior redesign, in order to get more than the standard nine passenger. As such, Dassault optimized the layout of their new jet, to seat 19 people!
Dassault revealed their new jet in early 1984, calling it the Dassault Falcon 900. The Falcon 900 first flew on September 21 1984, before receiving its type certificate in 1986. The first Falcon 900s were delivered in December 1986.
Operational History
Although Dassault initially envisioned the Falcon 900 solely as a business jet, many militaries have used the Falcon 900 for various uses, giving it a rather interesting service life!
Civilian
The first operators of the Dassault Falcon 900 were civilians and corporate entities. The overwhelming majority of them were corporations who were buying the Falcon 900 to act as their corporate jet.
To many of Europe’s largest corporations and the billionaires who control them, the large nature and long range of the Falcon 900 was rather appealing. To them, they can travel all around the world, only relying on one aircraft, thus reducing costs.
Over the course of the 1990’s and 2000’s, many American and Canadian corporations would also buy the Falcon 900. Here, they would often replace the smaller Cessna, Learjet and Bombardier private jets.
During the early-to-mid 1980’s, a few European celebrities, mostly those who were only famous in Continental Europe, also bought or leased the Falcon 900 for various reasons.
Although it was first used in the 1960’s, the 1990’s saw the concept of fractional ownership become quite widespread. The Dassault Falcon 900 was one of the first private jets to be used in this capacity.
Due mostly to the Falcon 900’s sheer size, it has become a favorite of many air charter companies. Many of the 1980’s Falcon 900s are still being used by them, well over 40 years later!
Military
Starting in the late 1980’s, many countries which had operated the Falcon 20 and/or Falcon 50, began to retire their Falcon 20s/50s. To replace them, many of these countries turned to Dassault once again.
Here, many of them ordered the newest Falcon derivative, namely the Falcon 900. Many of these Falcon 900s would be delivered over the course of the 1990’s, with many remaining in service to this day.
The vast majority of these militarized Falcon 900s, they act as VIP transport aircraft. In this capacity, the Falcon 900s are able to transport up to 19 high ranking military officers to and from military bases all over their country.
In a similar role, a few of these Falcon 900s have been acquired to be used as short-to-medium haul presidential transports. Here, they act in a similar role as Air Force One or Air Force Two, albeit on shorter-haul routes.
Many of these Falcon 900s also act in another capacity as well: Medievac. Here, extremely injured military or civilian personnel can be transported to places with adequate medical care for them, whilst doctors can work to save their life during the flight.
Dassault has also turned the Falcon 900 into a maritime surveillance aircraft. In this role, the Falcon 900 is able to scan for unregistered ships and submarines from non-allied countries, namely Russia and China.
Features
By far the most noticeable feature of the Dassault Falcon 900 is the trijet configuration. The Falcon family is the the only mass-produced business jet of recent times to have this configuration.
As a part of the trijet configuration, the Dassault Falcon 900 has an S-duct. Once again, it is one of only a few business jets to have an S-duct, with those other business jets also being a part of the Falcon Family.
The Falcon 900’s trijet design is also what helps to give the Falcon 900 its extremely long range. In turn, this extended range is what allows the Falcon 900 to be able to fly transatlantic and/or transpacific with ease.
Many subsequent variants of the Falcon 900 have had all-glass cockpits. This lowers the chance of pilot error and makes the entire flight safer on average, plus, pilots prefer it for so many more reasons!
The most recent variant of the Falcon 900 has seen winglets be added. This helps to make the flight smoother, and saves on fuel costs. Dassault have also released these winglets to be retrofitted on older Falcon 900 variants.
All private jets, regardless of whether they’re cheap or expensive come with a baggage area as a standard. These are usually quite small, however, the Falcon 900’s is absolutely massive, to a point where it’s maybe overkill…
Price
In 2018, Dassault listed the price of a brand new Falcon 900 B at $44.5 million, placing it firmly in the more expensive category of business jets.
With that being said, the first Falcon 900s rolled off the production line in 1984. This means that there are a healthy amount of Falcon 900s available on the secondary market.
As of the time of writing, older Falcon 900s can command a price tag as low as $6.5 million. On the high end, newer Falcon 900s with relatively few flying hours can go for as much as $19.5 million!
Over the years, Dassault has sold Falcon 900s to a number of high profile celebrities. Many of these Falcon 900s will have inflated prices due to their former owners.
In terms of cost to operate the Falcon 900, the Falcon 900 is actually in the middle in terms of costs. Assuming you flew 400 hours per year, you’d be looking at paying around $5,250 per flying hour!
Despite the aircraft being design in the 1980’s, many charter companies do offer the Falcon 900 for charter flights. The cost of the route is highly dependent on the route, the time of year, and number of passengers.
Variants
The original Dassault Falcon 900 was so successful, that Dassault continued to create new variants of the Falcon 900 well into the 2000’s, retiring older variants in favor of newer ones.
Falcon 900
The Dassault Falcon 900 is the original (and base) variant of the Falcon 900. It is a lengthened and re-engineered version of the Falcon 50 business jet, itself a lengthened and re-engineered version of the Dassault Falcon 20.
Owing to the fact that the Falcon 900 is the most basic and oldest variant of the Falcon 900 line, it is generally considered to be the worst member of the Falcon 900 line.
It is slower, more expensive to operate and has a lower range than other members of the Falcon 900 line.
The Falcon 900 would first fly in 1984, before being entered into service in 1986.
Falcon 900 MSA
In 1989, the Japanese Coast Guard approached Dassault about procuring a maritime surveillance derivative of the Dassault Falcon 900. In 1990, they released what the Japanese Coast Guard designated as the Falcon 900 MSA.
The Falcon 900 MSA (commonly referred to as the MSA)is equipped with a radar and a hatch to drop rescue supplies from.
In 2015, the Japanese Coast Guard acquired derivatives of the Falcon 2000, which it designated as the Falcon 2000 MRA. These aircraft are initially going to work alongside one another, before the MRA replaces the MSA.
Falcon 900 B
In 1991, Dassault ended production for the standard Falcon 900 variant. In its place, it released the Dassault Falcon 900 B. The only difference between the Falcon 900 and Falcon 900 B, was the more modern engines.
Since its introduction in 1991, the Falcon 900 B has become the most sold variant of the Dassault Falcon 900.
Falcon 900 EX
In 1996, operators of the Falcon 900 and Falcon 900 B began to complain that they needed an aircraft that could travel further. The introduction of the Bombardier Global Express had lured many of them, especially in North America.
As such, Dassault re-engineered the Falcon 900 B, giving it far more powerful and more fuel efficient engines. This new aircraft was also given an all-new glass cockpit, and was designated as the Falcon 900 EX.
Falcon 900 C
In 2000, the release of newer business jets such as the Learjet 45 led to a decline in sales for the Falcon 900. As such, Dassault was forced to modernize the Falcon 900 B.
Here, the Falcon B was given a new cockpit with state-of-the-art avionics. Dassault designated this variant as the Dassault Falcon 900 C.
Falcon 900 EX EA Sy
In the early 2000’s, Dassault released an updated variant of the Falcon 900 EX. This new variant was given the same updated avionics as the Falcon 900 C, however, had the range and speeds of the Falcon 900 EX.
Dassault called this new system the Enhanced Avionics System, or EA Sy for short. Naturally, it is referred to by many as the Falcon 900 EASY.
Falcon 900 DX
For almost its entire history, Dassault has marketed the Falcon 900 as having one of the longest ranges of any business jet of its era. However, for some, the range of the Falcon 900 EX was a little bit too excessive.
This cost them more money on shorter haul routes, which they often used.
As such, they petitioned for a variant of the Falcon 900 with a deliberately-designed shorter range. Dassault released this, designating this as the Falcon 900 DX.
Falcon 900 LX
Dassault partnered with Aviation Partners, Inc. to create the most modern variant of the Falcon 900. This is a variant of the Falcon 900 EX, however, has winglets. Due to these winglets, the Falcon 900 LX also has an extended range.
The Falcon 900 LX is the only variant of the Dassault Falcon 900 which is still in production (as of the time of writing).
VC-900A
In 2003, the Italian Air Force retired a number of its 1960’s-era Piaggio PD.808 executive jets. In 2005, the Italian Air Force bought a total of five Falcon 900EXs to replace the PD.808.
Here, the Falcon 900EXs were designated by the Italian Air Force as the VC-900A. For the most part, the VC-900A transports members of the Italian Parliament, however, also transports military officials when the VC-900B is unavailable.
VC-900B
At the same time as the Italian Air Force acquired the VC-900A/900EX, the Italian Air Force also acquired five Dassault Falcon 990 EA Sys. These were designated as the VC-900B by the Italian Air Force.
The VC-900B entered service in September 2005, and operates in a medievac and VIP transportation role. Occasionally, the VC-900B also transports members of the Italian Parliament, if the VC-900As are unavailable.
Specifications
| Specifications | Dassault Falcon 900B |
|---|---|
| Length | 20.21 m (66 ft 4 in) |
| Wingspan | 19.33 m (63 ft 5 in) |
| Cabin Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) |
| Crew | 2 |
| Passengers | 19 |
| Speed | Mach 0.85 (950 km/h; 590 mph; 510 kn) |
| Range | 7,400 km (4,600 mi, 4,000 nmi) |
| Service Ceiling | 15,500 m (50,900 ft) |
| MTOW | 20,640 kg (45,503 lb) |
How Safe is the Dassault Falcon 900?
Whenever we talk about the world’s safest and most dangerous aircraft, we only tend to include commercial jets like the 747 or A320. Unless private jets are the focus, they’re almost always left off both lists!
For the most part, this is done deliberately. Laws regarding the both commercial and private jets are incredibly different, and differ from country to country. Not to mention that most people won’t ever fly on a private jet!
Regardless of the reasons, people who want to, or are preparing to fly on the Dassault Falcon 900, are often curious about the Falcon 900’s safety record. In particular, they want to know safe they’re likely going to be!
Since the aircraft’s introduction in 1985, there has only been one crash involving the Dassault Falcon 900. This crash took place in Bucharest, Romania on September 14 1999.
Here, an Olympic Airways Falcon 900 had been leased by the Greek Government for the duration of some negotiations between the EU and Romania, which were taking place in Romania.
On the flight were a number of top Greek officials and legislators, all being transported from Athens to Bucharest. The Flacon 900 is designed so that the pilot doesn’t need to land the aircraft, just adjust the autopilot.
Upon coming in to land, the Flacon 900’s autopilot disengaged for unknown reasons. The pilot attempted to re-engage the autopilot, whilst coming in to land, causing the Falcon to shake uncontrollably.
Inside the cabin, the passengers and furniture were thrown around violently, resulting in the death of seven of the eleven passengers. Two more had serious injuries, and the other two had only minor injuries.
Among the dead was then-deputy foreign minister for Greece, Giannos Kranidiotis.
What’s it Like to Fly on The Dassault Falcon 900?
As a result of jobs I have held previously, I have been fortunate enough to travel on several variants of the Dassault Falcon 900. On top of this, I have also flown on several variants of the Falcon 20 and Falcon 50 respectively.
The vast majority of the trips I took on the Falcon 900 were round trips, travelling from Europe to Asia or Europe to North America. On one occasion, I also flew from California to China in the Falcon 900.
Personally, I preferred the Falcon 900 over both of its predecessors. To me, it was evident that Dassault had learned from the Falcon 20 and Falcon 50, and made the alterations that their customers wanted.
For many of these flights, I was working on or discussing the future of a particular project or media brand. On the Falcon 20 and Falcon 50, I often found it hard to work, due to the roughness of the flying.
However, on the Falcon 900, I actually found it to be the complete opposite! This, combined with the incredibly comfy seats (that come as standard) those hours I spent on the Falcon 900 were some of the most productive of my life.
Many of the Falcon 900s I flew on also had complimentary in-flight WIFI (at a time when this wasn’t a standard). For the most part, the WIFI was high-speed, which certainly helped me to be as productive as I was!
What do you think of the Dassault Falcon 900? Have you ever flown on it? Tell me in the comments!
Featured image courtesy of Rob Hodgkins via Flickr.