Last month in St. Cloud, France, Dassault Aviation performed the first simulated flight of the Falcon7X, establishing a preliminary standard for its fly-by-wire controls. “This virtual ‘first flight’ was very exciting.” said Bill Kerhervé, Dassault Aviation’s chief test pilot. He and test pilot Philippe Deleume worked together to evaluate the flight controls. “I was particularly impressed by the superb handling qualities through the whole flight envelope.”

The Falcon7X will be the first business jet in the world with fly-by-wire flight controls. This technology, which Dassault has used on its fighter jets for decades, will it says allow significant gains in safety and passenger comfort.