Dassault has joined Bombardier and Gulfstream in the recent trend of business aviation record setting. The French OEM has announced a new Falcon 8X coast-to-coast speed record. Its aircraft flew from Santa Monica’s short 3,500ft runway to Teterboro, New Jersey in just 4 hours 28 minutes. According to Dassault, the tailwinds averaged only 5kt during the trip.
Carrying four passengers and 200lb of payload, the Falcon 8X beat the previous speed record by 24 minutes, that time having been set when Santa Monica’s runway measured 5,000ft. The airport is uniquely challenging thanks to its combination of short runway and strict noise abatement policy.
The Falcon 8X used less than 2,000ft of runway on landing and a balanced field length of 3,200ft when it departed Santa Monica at 8.08am local time. The departure and climb-out measured significantly below the airport’s 95dBA sound exposure level (SEL) limit. The 8X landed in Teterboro at 3.36pm local time.
Pending official ratification by the National Aeronautic Association (NAA), the new record follows a series of records set in 2018, including a mission from London City that crossed the Atlantic to Beverly, Massachusetts, in 6 hours 44 minutes. London City’s stringent noise rules, short runway and steep glide slope are particularly challenging, but all current production Falcons are certified to operate at the airport.
The Falcon 8X is well known for its capability into challenging airports,
including Aspen, Lugano and Gstaad.
