Dassault has introduced the first Falcon 7X to an audience of 800 guests at its Charles Lindbergh facility at Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport. It says the aircraft, which has a range of 5,700 nautical miles, is the first ever to be designed and built in an entirely virtual environment using a Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) philosophy. \rThe first model of the aircraft was assembled in seven months, about half the time required for the first production aircraft. \r“Today we have made a huge step forward in the industry,” said Charles Edelstenne, chairman and ceo of Dassault Aviation. “Due to the new and unique design and manufacturing process that we pioneered with our sister company, Dassault Systems, we have started a new industrial revolution that will take us through this century.”\rThe Falcon 7X will be the first business jet to be flown with Fly by Wire (FBW) technology. FBW replaces mechanical linkage between the controls in the cockpit and the moving surfaces with electrical wires and circuits and is designed to reduce pilot workload and increase safety. \r“The business jet market has been looking for a large cabin aircraft for long range missions that can deliver superior fuel efficiency, speed and maintenance,” said John Rosanvallon, president and ceo of Dassault Falcon Jet. “From the response we’ve received from our customers, its apparent that the Falcon 7X has filled that need and will continue to do so in the coming years.”\rDassault says close to 50 firm orders from 16 countries have already been placed for the tri-jet. Six aircraft are currently in various stages of production.\rFlight testing is scheduled to start at the beginning of the second quarter of 2005 and will last about 18 months with at least three aircraft. Certification and first deliveries are expected before the end of 2006.