The Falcon 7X business jet, now in the middle of flight testing, will make two demonstration flights during the Paris Air Show. Combining a number of state-of-the-art technologies, this top-end business aircraft reflects the expertise of several group companies. We talked to Patrick Lesser, Vice President, Dassault Aviation programs at Messier-Dowty.

Based on the first flights of the Falcon 7X, how do things look from Messier-Dowty’s viewpoint?

Since we supply all landing gear on this aircraft, the first flight is a major milestone in the development program – which is proceeding flawlessly in fact. Because of their confidence in our products, the crew immediately retracted the landing gear right after taking off on the first flight. During their debriefing, the pilots also noted that they were very happy with the steering control, which they found very smooth.

What were the main challenges of the 7X for Messier-Dowty?

We faced some very concrete cost and time requirements, but we stayed on schedule with the objectives defined at the outset. We will have to continue this effort to ensure aircraft certification on schedule as well. The main challenge in landing gear design was to meet the tight weight specification, of 431 kilos for all three landing gear. Today, we can say that we have met this objective, even with a couple kilos to spare…

What’s up next for the aircraft and Messier-Dowty equipment?

The coming months will see more flight testing and qualification, followed by U.S. and European aircraft certification. The first customer deliveries are planned for the end of 2006. Few changes in the mechanical components of the landing gear are expected: endurance and fatigue tests prior to the first flight, had already shown that our equipment was up to the mark. Things are a bit different for the electronics, especially the gear/gear door and steering control unit made by Hispano-Suiza Canada, under our responsibility. Flight tests will allow us to adjust this unit to meet the requirements for this specific environment, spanning vibrations, temperature, electromagnetic and radio interference.