Dassault Falcon 8X Gets 100-Foot Minimum Decision Ability With FalconEye CVS

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Dassault Aviation has announced that pilots of Falcon 8X jets equipped with the FalconEye CVS will receive operational credit to make approaches in bad weather to a 100-foot decision height. (Photo courtesy of Dassault Aviation.)

Dassault Aviation announced in late May that operators of its flagship Falcon 8X business jet with the FalconEye combined vision system (CVS) installed will soon receive operational credit to make approaches in bad weather to a 100-foot (30.48-meter) decision height. Dassault plans to introduce the ability, which recently wrapped up a joint Federal Aviation Administration/European Aviation Safety Agency certification campaign, before year’s end.

Greater Flexibility

The ability will specifically enable pilots to “make a precision approach at airfields without ground-based navigation aids down to a decision height of 100 feet.” That would significantly expand the number of airports the Falcon 8X can serve in adverse weather conditions. Dassault reportedly plans to make the ability available for its Falcon 2000S/LXS and 900LX aircraft in the first half of 2019.

First available in 2017, FalconEye is billed as the first head-up display (HUD) that blends synthetic, database-driven terrain mapping and actual thermal and low-light camera images into one view. That view provides “an unprecedented level of situational awareness to flight crews in all conditions of operation day and night,” says Dassault, which claims a majority of Falcon 8X operators have installed a FalconEye HUD.

Dassault Aviation Chairman and CEO Eric Trappier says FalconEye has provided a “huge safety benefit” to operators, adding that with this latest certification, “customers will have even greater flexibility and access” while simultaneously “benefiting from the enhanced situational awareness of the world’s most advanced combined vision system.”

Heightened Situational Awareness

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Dassault Aviation says the upcoming ability for Falcon 8X pilots to make precision approaches at airfields without ground-based navigation aids to a decision height of 100 feet will considerably expand the number of airports the aircraft can serve in bad weather conditions. (Photo courtesy of Dassault Aviation.)

Dassault developed FalconEye in partnership with Elbit Systems. The system integrates a multi-sensor camera that produces what Dassault says are high-definition images approaching military forward-looking infrared (FLIR) quality. When in synthetic vision system (SVS) mode, the camera’s vision quality is purported to compare to that of sophisticated fighter HUDs. Dassault expects FalconEye CVS to receive certification for use in a dual-HUD format by 2020. Besides further enhancing crew situational awareness and coordination, Dassault says this would provide CVS-to-land ability, thus enabling pilots to use a combined vision image versus natural vision until touchdown when executing a precision approach.

The Falcon 8X also recently received approval for flight in severe crosswind conditions and for operations at London City Airport, considered one of the most restrictive airfields in the world. Dassault additionally introduced the Falcon Sphere II integrated electronic flight bag suite and new high-speed connectivity options to the Falcon 8X, which entered service 18 months ago.

Dassault Aviation and Dassault Falcon Jet Corp. design, manufacture, and support Dassault business jets. Along with the Falcon 8X, Dassault manufacturers the Falcon 7X, 900LX, 2000LXS, and 2000S business jets and Rafale military fighters. An upcoming Falcon 6X jet is expected in 2022. You can find numerous pre-owned Dassault aircraft for sale every day on Controller.com.

Source: Dassault Aviation