14 SA Flyer Magazinein brief
FALCON 5X
FIRST FLIGHT
Rolled out two years ago,
Dassault Aviation’s all-new
Falcon 5X business jet
has now flown for the first
time. The flight, on 5 July,
from Dassault’s Bordeaux-
Mérignac final assembly
facility lasted for two hours.T
HE 5X’s projected 5,200 nm
range is not as far as that of
the Falcon 7X, but the 5X has
a larger fuselage diameter
and greater cabin volume,
allowing for three crew and 16
passengers.
The Safran Silvercrest engines installed
on the test aircraft are a “preliminary
version,” Dassault said. According to the
company, “design issues” have delayed
the engine’s development by four years.
Preliminary flight tests will continue for a few
weeks “to help streamline the development
process,” according to Dassault, but the
actual flight validation and certification
tests will be performed next year, after
“Safran delivers certifiable engines meeting
Dassault’s specifications.” Deliveries of the
5X are expected to start in 2020.
“We’re committed to limiting the
consequences of the four-year engine
development delay as much as possible,
and the short preliminary flight-test
campaign is part of this effort,” said Eric
Trappier, CEO of Dassault Aviation. “We
will closely monitor the validation tests on
the modified Silvercrest engine, which are
scheduled by Safran in the coming months,
as their results will be critical for keeping
the certification on schedule.”
Besides the 5X, the engine has
been chosen by Cessna for the Citation
Hemisphere business jet. “The Silvercrest’s
fuel consumption is up to 15 percent
lower than other engines in its category,”
according to Cessna, “and it allows
business jets to reduce their nitrous-oxide
emissions by up to 40 percent and cut their
noise footprint by half.” First flight of the
Citation Hemisphere is expected in 2019.First flight of Falcon 5X used
preliminary version of Safran
Silvercrest engines.AERO
ELECTRIC TO
BUILD
SUN FLYER 4
Aero Electric Aircraft Corp. (AEAC)
announced at Oshkosh that it plans to
build a four-seat version of its all-electric
aeroplane.A
CCORDING to Aero Electric, the
Sun Flyer 4 will be capable of
a 120-knot max cruise speed,
carry an 800-pound payload,
and have a four-hour endurance. Direct
operating costs are said to be five times
lower than those associated with similar
combustion-engine aircraft, at US$18 per
hour.
The Sun Flyer 4 has a launch price of
US$349,000 and is aimed at both flight
schools and pilot-owners.
AEAC has built a proof-of-concept
prototype of its two-seat Sun Flyer 2. The
company says they plan to certify the
aeroplane under FAR Part 23.
The two-seat Sun Flyer prototype will
soon begin power-on tests at its home
station at Centennial Airport near Denver.
Taxi tests began last year. AEAC says the
certification programme of the 2 would
likely take two to three years. They intend
j certifying the Sun Flyer 4 in parallel.jAEAC has built a proof-of-concept
prototype of its two-seat Sun Flyer.BELL RESUMES
‘RELENTLESS’
FLIGHT TESTS
Bell Helicopter’s twin-engine 525
Relentless is back in the air after being
grounded for about a year following a
fatal crash.T
WO Bell Helicopter pilots were
killed in July 2016 when the 525
crashed during a test flight near
the company’s facility in Texas.
“Bell Helicopter has worked with the NTSB
and FAA since the accident and we are
confident in the resumption of flight test
activity,” said Mitch Snyder, Bell’s CEO.
The FAA has renewed the aircraft’s
experimental certificate, and the Bell team is
aiming to receive certification in 2018.
The Bell 525 is the world’s first fly-by-
wire commercial helicopter and is designed
to reduce pilot workload and improve safety
during operations in austere environments.
The aircraft features the first fully integrated
touch screen avionics suite designed for
helicopters, the Garmin G5000H, and
Bell says the 525’s payload, cabin, cargo
volumes and passenger comfort are
designed to be best-in-class.jThe Bell 525 is the world’s first fly-
by-wire commercial helicopter.