Dassault Falcon 6X On Track for First Flight This Month

First flight of the Falcon 6X is on track to take place by the end of this month, Dassault Aviation chairman and CEO Eric Trappier said today during a press conference outlining the company’s 2020 results. The first three development Falcon 6Xs are now completed, following the December 8 rollout of S/N 3, registered as F-WAVE.

S/Ns 1 and 2 are “heavily instrumented to accomplish all performance and systems testing.” The third aircraft is currently being outfitted with a full interior, including entertainment and communications systems, to check function and reliability. Assembly of S/Ns 4 and 5 are underway, Trappier added.

Falcon 6X S/N 1, registered as F-WSIX, began ground taxi testing last month at Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport as it rapidly progresses toward its inaugural flight planned for this month. Dassault announced that test pilots Bruno Ferry and Fabrice “Tom” Valette will be at the controls of S/N 1.

Meanwhile, the Pratt & Whitney PW812D engine that powers the new twinjet has racked up more than 19,000 hours of core testing and 2,500 hours of engine testing, the latter including about 300 hours on a flying testbed with more than 6,000 cycles completed. According to Dassault, the turbofan engine has achieved all critical milestones, including endurance testing and bird-ingestion tests.

The wide-cabin Falcon 6X is scheduled to enter service in late 2022.

AINsight: Could There Be New Faces Popping Up?

The pandemic seems to be causing some new faces to pop up in the business aircraft brokerage business. My concerns as new people cross a very low bar to enter this profession are that they come in trying to attract business by quoting very low commissions, giving poor valuation information, and unqualified cost expectations. New aircraft buyers tend to rely on someone who seems authoritative.

This combination of low cost and high value can attract clients for all the wrong reasons. I was recently on a webinar where some of the panelists said they were already getting calls from recent first-time buyer clients wanting to sell. This can only mean a few things—the cost to operate the airplanes they had just purchased was possibly underestimated and/or the complexity and burden of aircraft ownership were not properly explained.

The outcome for these people will be terrible when they realize that not only will the cost to operate be higher than expected, but the cost to get out will be significant. A smarter approach would be to find a seasoned industry player and be sure there are not better methods to manage the asset, as well as better cost opportunities. Aircraft can be everything you hoped they would be. They are safe, efficient, and can bring real joy!

Dassault Deliveries Drop, but Future Falcon on Track

Dassault Aviation is expecting Falcon deliveries to drop to 25 units this year, a 26 percent slide from the 34 delivered in 2020, as the French manufacturer works to rebuild backlog and prepares to unveil its next “Future Falcon” model by July.

Releasing its 2020 results today, Dassault reported business jet shipments were off by six units in 2020 but Falcon net sales increased from €2.19 billion in 2019 to nearly €2.23 billion last year, propelled by an increase in preowned aircraft deliveries. Falcon backlog dipped by €186 million to €2.147 billion as 2020 yielded orders for just 15, compared with 40 the year earlier. Seven of those Falcons involve sales to the French Navy for the Albatros program. The backlog now includes 34 Falcons.

But the company was able to best its revised 2020 forecast for 30 deliveries and at the same time progress on new product development. Dassault laid the groundwork for its Future Falcon and plans to announce the model in the first half of this year, Dassault chairman and CEO Eric Trappier said, adding that announcement will come either virtually or in-person if conditions are better.

Dassault further is investing in a number of environmental sustainability efforts, including research in making its aircraft line compatible with 100 percent biofuels.

U.S. Govt. Indicts Aircraft Title, Trust Company Owner

The indictment of a well-known owner of an aviation title company on various charges raises an important issue regarding the responsibility borne by owner trustees when it comes to helping a non-U.S. citizen purchase an aircraft and register it in the U.S.

Debra Lynn Mercer-Erwin, owner of Wright Brothers Aircraft Title (WBAT) and Aircraft Guaranty Corp. (AGC), was arrested in Oklahoma on December 18 and was subsequently moved to Texas. On February 24, a U.S. grand jury indictment was unsealed in the case of the U.S. against Mercer-Erwin; her daughter Kayleigh Moffett, who was an officer of the companies; and six others. The indictment includes drug charges, money laundering, export violations, and aircraft registration violations.

According to the indictment, AGC acted as trustee and registered “thousands” of aircraft on behalf of foreign owners, which by itself is legal. The problem wasn’t that AGC acted as a trustee but that “defendants circumvent United States laws and regulations by placing N numbers in the hands of drug traffickers and prohibited foreign nationals,” according to the indictment.

No matter who is involved in the purchase of an aircraft via a trustee, the FAA considers the trustee the owner of the aircraft. The trustee owner is thus responsible for regulatory compliance, and the FAA pointed this out in a policy clarification in 2013.

FAA Confirms Gulfstream G280 as Stage 5 Compliant

The FAA has confirmed Gulfstream Aerospace’s G280 meets Stage 5 noise standards, the Savannah, Georgia manufacturer announced yesterday. The update reflecting the Stage 5 recognition has been added in the G280 aircraft flight manual and new noise data sheets will be issued to operators. Gulfstream called the acknowledgment important to ensuring continued operational flexibility at noise-sensitive airports, including those with time-of-day entry restrictions.

“The Gulfstream team continues its commitment to the future of the G280 program, ensuring adherence to the most stringent standards, whether for safety, performance, or noise emissions,” said Gulfstream president Mark Burns. “Aircraft noise abatement goals are vital to ensuring the livelihood of the aviation and aerospace industries and demonstrating our efforts to be good neighbors to those who live or work near airfields, airports, or flight paths.”

Stage 5 is the current FAA noise standard for jet and large turboprop aircraft and is in line with ICAO noise standards. The standard has been mandatory since the end of 2017 for applicants of new aircraft type designs with a mtow of 121,254 pounds. The standard went into effect for new type designs smaller than that at the end of last year.

Medical Emergency Digital ID Simplifies Vaccine Records

ID-ME has launched a Covid-19 vaccine passport that resides on iOS and Android smartphone digital wallets. The company previously developed the service to store medical emergency information in an easily managed and secure system. So far, the vaccine passport has been tested with six air carriers.

Short for “identification, medical emergency,” ID-ME stores personal information such as vaccine status, allergies, and medications. For Covid-19 vaccine confirmation, the user takes a photo of the vaccine document, which is then verified by a third party.

Anyone can sign up for ID-ME for $1 per month or $10 per year, and all the information is stored in the digital card. While the smartphone’s wallet can display the vaccine passport information, users also receive an email with a PDF document that displays a scannable QR code that can be used in place of the digital wallet. ID-ME can also provide a credit card-type card for an additional fee, including white-label branding for organizations that want to offer ID-ME to their members or employees.

Unlike some other vaccine passport systems, the ID-ME card does not require internet access to verify the information and it isn’t connected to health care providers, according to ID-ME founder Ric Webb, who is also the founder of Southern California-based OC Helicopters.

Utah Broker Creates Business Aircraft Valuation Tool

Soljets, a Utah-based business aircraft brokerage, has developed a proprietary database called Soldata to add transparency and accelerate decision-making in the aircraft sales and acquisition process by tracking aircraft values and transactions. Under development for about six years, the database is available solely to Soljets clients and tracks the technical and financial lifecycle on about 24,000 different turbine aircraft.

Information tracked by the database includes airframe and engine times, maintenance programs, inspection status, features, and cabin configuration. Soldata also identifies the market value on specific attributes of a business aircraft such as age, utilization trend, and paint and interior refurbishment using its fair market value (FMV) valuation tool. 

Soljets partner Matt Stringfellow told AIN he approached recently appointed chief technology officer Ryan Crawford about six months into the 2015 launch of Soljets looking for a way to create what would become Soldata and FMV. “I’ve always been a data guy and had my own little tools I used at different brokerage firms,” he said. “And I can’t tell you what a difficult task it was keeping all those spreadsheets up to date and then archiving all the data and keeping yourself sharp on all these different markets when you’re talking to buyers and sellers, so it was just something I just started crafting up in my head.”

Bombardier Teams with Aston Martin on Design

Bombardier has signed a letter of intent with Aston Martin to collaborate on custom design services for its Global and Challenger aircraft. The Canadian manufacturer said the collaboration would provide customers the opportunity for a unique design experience that will combine approaches used in the luxury automotive market with those in business aviation and open new possibilities for cabin experiences.

“Aston Martin has a highly refined set of automotive design principles, driven by the meticulous application of proportion, craft, and technical innovation,” said Marek Reichman, Aston Martin's v-p and chief creative officer. “Bombardier’s customers share our owners’ desire for unique contemporary design statements. We are truly excited at the prospect of collaborating with Bombardier’s accomplished design team to bring our respective design expertise together.”

“We would be proud to add a new facet to this experience that channels Aston Martin’s distinct aesthetic approach,” added Peter Likoray, Bombardier’s senior v-p of sales and marketing for new aircraft.

Photo of the Week

Next stop: Savannah. AM Aircraft Holdings aviation manager Rafael Alonso snapped this photo of his company’s Gulfstream G450 in Aspen, Colorado, after a passenger flight from Panama City, Panama. The next leg was flown sans passengers to the Gulfstream Aerospace Service Center in Savannah, Georgia, for annual maintenance. Thanks for sharing, Rafael!

If you'd like to submit an entry for Photo of the Week, email a high-resolution horizontal image (at least 2000 x 1200 pixels), along with your name, contact information, social media names, and info about it (including brief description, location, etc.) to photos@ainonline.com. Tail numbers can be removed upon request. Those submitting photos give AIN implied consent to publish them in its publications and social media channels.