Tag Archives: Dassault

Falcon 50 With Winglets

If a Falcon 50 is coming and I have the time to be there, there is a good chance I will. What could make a Falcon 50 even more appealing? Having winglets fitted. I didn’t know that when I went to catch it, but you can guess that I was rather pleased when that turned out to be the case. It feels as if there have been lots of Falcon 50s in the area in recent months. Maybe I am just noticing them more or maybe they have been more common. Either way, I’ll take it. Add some more with winglets and that will be even better please!

Retirement for a Falcon 900EX Pilot

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I was chatting with one of the Sheriff’s team at Boeing Field one weekend and he asked me if I was there to get the retirement flight. I told him I didn’t know about it, and he said a Falcon 900EX pilot was coming in shortly on his final flight. They were planning a water cannon salute for him. The location of the hangar meant it wasn’t ideal to get shots of so I decided to go and get the touchdown of the flight and then do the best I could for the salute.

While I was waiting for the Falcon to return, I could see the fire trucks positioning themselves for the salute. They were a good distance off so I knew that I wouldn’t get really compelling shots. Nevertheless, I would be able to get something. They had a couple of quick tests to make sure the water was flowing and then waited. Soon enough the Falcon touched down. A helicopter came into land just beforehand and blocked part of my planned shot but there was no time to change so I just adapted to what I had. They rolled out to the north end of the field and then taxied in for the celebrations. The fire trucks started spraying their water and the Falcon taxied through the water arch. Then it was all over from my perspective. I imagine that they celebrated a little longer.

As an aside, I went to the hangar the following week and asked if they wanted any shots. They couldn’t have been less friendly if they had tried. If they didn’t want anything, that’s fine but try not to be so miserable to someone just trying to do something nice.

Falcon 10s Aren’t Too Common These Days

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The Dassault bizjets line continues to flourish but it all goes back to an earlier generation. Interestingly, The Falcon 10 came after the Falcon 20 despite the numbering and is not related in anything other than name to the Falcon 10X which is the latest development from Dassault. It is still a popular jet but there just aren’t that many of them around anymore. However, they aren’t extinct and catching one is a nice result.

I have actually caught two of them in recent(ish) times. The first came into Boeing Field and I have to say the weather was playing ball for a change. Lovely winter light as it showed up and I was quite happy with the results. Indeed, I thought this might be my last encounter with one for some time, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover that one was coming into Phoenix Sky Harbor the day I flew down there. Just before sunset it showed up. It is a small plane so was a bit distant on the northern runway but still a result!

How Long Can a Falcon 50 Remain in Reverse?

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The Falcon 50 only has a single thrust reverser, and it is fitted to the centerline engine. The nacelles on each side are not fitted with reversers. I was quite a way down the runway from this Falcon when it landed, and I could hear the reverser kick in. I was not expecting it to stay in reverse for very long, but they kept it in all the way through the roll out and even as they exited to the taxiway. Is that normal procedure?

The Sun Arrives for the Falcon 20

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Autumnal weather can make for unpredictable conditions when photographing anything but especially planes. I was up at Paine Field for the NASA flying but was pleased to see that a Falcon 20 was also due to make a stop. This was an IFL Group aircraft making a short stop before heading off again. The clouds had been rolling through, but they parted just before the Falcon showed up. We had great light on it as it landed.

Conditions didn’t stay great and, by the time it taxied back out to depart, it was not so good. Not terrible by any standards but certainly not the lovely light we had for the arrival. It’s rare that I see a Falcon 20 being used for personal transport these days but the fact that they still have a good role for freight usage means we get to see them around still which is welcome.

Other Sunny Sunday Bizjets

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One Sunday earlier in the year, I was up at Boeing Field for the arrival of an old Gulfstream. That proved to be a successful encounter and has been on this blog already. However, that was not the only bizjet traffic that day. I ended up with a variety of corporate aircraft movements.

There was a Canadian Challenger as well as some NetJets examples. A Falcon 7X was on the move which is a cool looking aircraft. There was also a Falcon 50 parked near the road alongside a Hawker. An Excel came through which isn’t that special but then we got an Eclipse which certainly is. It was a fun time to be out photographing with a lot in a short space of time. Here are some shots of those planes.

Falcon 50 Through the Snow

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Crappy conditions are not usually what you are after when photographing aircraft but, sometimes it is what you get and you have to make the best of it. One upside is that, if you are somewhere with a reasonable amount of traffic, you can play around with getting shots of something you weren’t necessarily focused on. While standing in the snow waiting for the Skycourier’s arrival, I did have a Falcon 50 on approach. I like the Falcon 50 a lot so this would normally have my attention already. However, crummy conditions almost left me in the car. I decided at the last minute to try it anyway.

I was really quite pleased with the patterns that the snow made around the jet as it came in. in such bad light, the landing lights are always going to be more dominant and their ability to light up the snow flurries ahead of them can work out well. These pictures will probably never be gracing anyone’s walls but I got a kick out of them when I went through them back at home.

What Is Experimental About This?

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Dassault is developing their business jet line. The 5X was stillborn as a result of engine supply issues but it led to the 6X which I got to see last year when it came through Boeing Field on tour. The next jet is the 10X. This is going to be a large cabin and long range jet to play with the Global 8000 and G800. However, it hasn’t flown yet. When I saw this jet at Boeing Field, I wondered what the story was. The large graphic on the side must either relate to something else or is delusion of grandeur on the part of the owner.

A Quick Visit To LCY

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I wanted to explore some parts of London that I haven’t been too much before so I headed east. Before I started getting my real exploration underway, though, I took a visit to London City Airport. I haven’t been there for years and things have changed a lot including the types that can access the airport. I had seen some photos from the airport but I wasn’t sure about the options for photographing there. I was also not timing it well with things being far busier in the early morning and late afternoon. Still, it was worth a visit.

I headed to the east of the airfield where a road bridge crosses the water. I was hoping that this would give a good view down the runway but the runway lights obscured things a little. An offset helped a bit. It also was a good location for some approach shots.

I then headed back towards the terminal and got some touchdown shots from alongside the runway as well as a few shots of jets taxiing out and departing. It was quite something to see the Embraer E190s climbing out so quickly. They got airborne very swiftly and climbed away like homesick angels. The majority of traffic was British Airways Cityflyer Express so not that much variety but a few bizjets came through too.

Later in the day,when crossing the Thames in the Cable Car, I got a good view down towards the runway. It would have been great if a jet had taken off while I was crossing but one took off just after I got back on the ground. As I walked to the Excel center, I saw a high level footbridge that looked like it might have a good alignment with the runway. I planned to check it out later but, having spent a long time with a friend and needing to get back, I completely forgot until it was too late. If anyone knows whether this spot works, please let me know.

First Encounter With The Falcon 6X

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One weekend I was casually looking at FlightRadar24 and saw a French registered aircraft on the ramp at Boeing Field. It didn’t show what it was but a quick search showed it was a Falcon 6X. This got me rather excited. Dassault had developed a large cabin twin jet called the Falcon 5X which used an engine called the Silvercrest from Safran. This engine had a lot of development issues and delayed the Falcon 5X a few times. Eventually, Dassault’s patience ran out and they cancelled the jet. They then commenced a new design based on the 5X with a new engine and the associated changes this required. This became the Falcon 6X.

The jet is in test at the moment. I am not sure how long it is before they expect it to be certificated but it shouldn’t be too long. My online search showed that they were running a world tour with the jet at a time which appeared to conclude around the time of the Farnborough show so it would, no doubt, provide some good publicity. The jet had come to Seattle from Van Nuys and it was to there where it was headed next.

I had no idea how long they were hanging around for but figured it was definitely worth a shot. I drove over to the field and, sure enough, there was the jet on the ramp at Signature near the main terminal. I wasn’t sure how long it would be before they headed off so, after getting some shots, I headed to the other side of the field assuming a departure would come. Sure enough, they taxied out. Unfortunately, they didn’t use the full length and went for an intersection take off. I decided that, since it was hot and the haze was not great, I would go with video instead. The result is below. They spooled up the engines for quite a while before releasing the brakes. I guess that is what you do when you have a development jet.