Designed to rejuvenate Dassault’s ageing fleet of private jets, the Dassault Falcon 7X was given all the latest toys, making it the first private jet to have several now-common features, including a digital flight control system (DFCS).
The largest jet Dassault offered when it was unveiled to the world at the 2005 Paris Air Show, the Falcon 7X is currently the second-largest jet built by the company, only being smaller than the Falcon 8X which the company introduced in October 2016.
Pre-Dassault Falcon 7X
Ever since there have been aircraft used to transport people, there have been ultra-wealthy individuals looking to own an entire aircraft for themselves. One solely for their use.
Happening mostly on a small scale, the late 1950’s saw a huge increase in the number of corporations and ultra-high net worth individuals operate ageing prewar and WWII-era transport aircraft/former airliners instead of flying commercial.
French aircraft manufacturer, Dassault, was one of many aircraft manufacturers who noticed this and began designing a twin-engine, eight-to-14-seat corporate transport capable of flying over 2,000 miles.
This jet would become known as the Dassault Falcon 20.
Produced continually for 36 years (1965-1991), it is Dassault’s longest-produced private jet and was Dassault’s most popular business jet when production of the jet ceased.
Building on the Falcon 20’s success, Dassault introduced two jets: the larger, longer-range Falcon 50 and the smaller, shorter-range Falcon 10. Much like their predecessor, both jets turned out to be quite popular, albeit with different types of operators.
With the Falcon 50 proving the more popular of the two jets, Dassault chose to release the Falcon 50-derived Falcon 900 in 1984.
40% cheaper to operate than its competitors, as well as being cheaper to acquire, the Falcon 900 sold incredibly well – quickly becoming Dassault’s most popular business jet. Indeed, it’s been so successful that it’s still produced today!
Yet, the Falcon 900 was not future-proof. Eventually, newer jets were introduced by Dassault’s competitors and the Falcon 900 began to lose its competitive edge… and Dassault couldn’t have that.
Development
Operational History
Corporate Jet
Private Jet
Though it had been expressly designed as for corporate use, corporate operators were by no means the only
Despite this, we do know of a few private individuals and celebrities who operate the jet, including: preacher Jesse Duplantis, Charles Simonyi, Prince Albert II of Monaco and Steven Spielberg.
Though they don’t own the jet personally, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have reportedly flown on the Falcon 7X on several occasions since their departure from royal life.
Charter
Fractional Ownership
Military
Price
Assuming you had the money to, you could contact Dassault Aviation about acquiring a brand new Falcon 7X straight from the factory. It would only set you back around $54 million.
Yet the waiting list for a new Falcon 7X is usually a couple of years long, and brand new jets depreciate at an astonishing rate.
Luckily, if you’re a bit impatient, or don’t want to lose millions of dollars in depreciation, there are several Dassault Falcon 7Xs currently for sale on the secondary market, mostly thanks to the jet having been on the market for over 15 years!
On the cheaper end, a used Falcon 7X built between 2005 and 2010 that have a fairly high number of hours on the fuselage (normally pushing 5000), would set you back anywhere from $13 to $16.5 million depending on specs.
For you
On the more expensive end, usually one built in the last few years that pretty much hasn’t been used, you could wind up paying anywhere from $30 to $45 million depending on how new it is and how many hours it has.
Though Dassault has a reputation for building trijets that are incredibly expensive to operate, the Falcon 7X is cheaper to operate than you’d previously have thought, costing roughly $3,910 per hour to operate, assuming you fly it for 450 hours per year!
Features
Variants
Falcon 7X
Falcon 8X
Specifications
| Specifications | Dassault Falcon 7X |
|---|---|
| Length | 23.38 m (76Â ft 1 in) |
| Wingspan | 26.21 m (86 ft) |
| Height | 7.83 m (25Â ft 8 in) |
| Crew | 2 |
| Passenger | 12 – 16 (14 typical) |
| Cruise Speed | 0.8 Mach (850Â km/h; 528 mph; 459Â kn) |
| Range | 11,019Â km (6,847 mi; 5,950 nmi) |
| Service Ceiling | 51,000 ft (15,545 m) |
| MTOW | 70,000Â lb (31,751Â kg) |
How Safe is The Dassault Falcon 7X?
What’s it Like to Fly on The Dassault Falcon 7X?
What do you think about the Dassault Falcon 7X? Have you ever flown on it? Tell me in the comments!