The Range-topper Of Dassault’s Best-Selling Falcon 900 Range Has A New Interior

As much as business jets serve a larger role as an efficient business tool, we live in a time where lifestyle wants and needs are at its very highest. Almost everything we own expresses our lifestyle, right from pen to pocket square. What more one’s own business jet, a vehicle in which many a businessman and women spend a lot of time in, jetsetting from one location to another in search of their own summits in life. As such, large-cabin business jets, like Dassault’s Falcon 900LX, are designed for the very purpose of accommodating and expressing the right lifestyle sentiment of its owners and users. And recently, the 900LX got an updated interior to meet the demands of its growing clientele. 

​Dassault Aviation’s global Head of Communications for Civil Aircraft, Mr. Vadim Feldzer, ​puts some perspective on the thought process behind the 900LX’s brilliant cabin: ​”The design works well because of the collaborative partnership between the aircraft engineers and the specification and design team from the very beginning of the project. They learned from each other along the way so that in the final design, form follows function, leading to a pleasing and highly efficient cabin space”. It’s a project that began back in 2010 when the Dassault Falcon 900LX first got into development.

After about six years, Dassault themselves felt it was time to update the 900LX’s interior. So, the design team took a passenger-centric approach that combined efficiency, technical innovation and contemporary style, the fruit of which can be seen in these images that accompany this read. “The result is a cabin with more clarity and fluidity,” says Vadim Feldzer and we cant but agree with his on-point explanation.

Much of this physically and visually pleasing cabin comes down to how the 900LX is built from the flight deck to wingtip to rudder. The aircraft has the same high and wide cross-section as Dassault’s 7X and 8X business jets, two jets that already have a very specific market because of its long flight range alone. Even though the 900LX’s cabin measures at 66.31ft in total length (shorter than the 7X and 8X), it still has has three exquisitely designed lounge areas.

Dassault have shared with us on how the French aviation specialists have accomplished this excellent blend of form and function. Dassault engineers basically worked to maximize improvements without compromising existing features that have made the 900LX such a trusted platform. And yes, to achieve this, the team started with a design language based on the newer Falcon generation, as exemplified by the 7X and 8X. This is how this versatile interior has come to fruition.

The 900LX’s new cabin interior provides for a more fluid layout with brighter highlights, and this is expressed with a fine balance between functional and decorative elements. Artful efficiency was the desired result with contemporary styling and user-centric ergonomics, something Vadim felt is very apparent in the modern world of today. In fact, the same aesthetic approach used for the 900LX’s cabin redesign mimics that off other areas of business jet owners’ lifestyle, such as luxury automobiles and yachts. This is a good direction because Dassault’s customers and potential customers are the kind that will actually appreciate the high-end design ergonomics feel.

“That meant rethinking the approach to how and when passengers should access specific parts of the furniture or any relevant devices. Features had to be integrated more seamlessly, controls were tucked into the armrest of the seat and buttons were put within easy reach. All this echoes the design elements you see in modern devices such as mobiles with sleek, minimalist surfaces. And our modernized cabin technology features are as powerful and easily managed as a tablet or smartphone with similar design sensibilities in their sleek simplicity.,” explained Vadim Feldzer.

Another key aspect that’s been improved in this updated 900LX interior is in its ‘light management’. To deliver an exceptional lighting experience within the 900LX’s cabin, Dassault designers and engineers worked to improve ambient lighting settings to be able to be adjusted to according to the cabin occupants’ activity or mood. There’s a different lighting theme when occupants/passengers are resting, working or even dining.

In complementing this new visually pleasing direction, even the seat options were re-thought just to add to the overall cabin theme of continuous fluidity. This was put into application by taking into account the different purposes of the seats. “Seats were re-configured with more settings depending on the activity, whether it’s a meeting with business partners or traveling with the family. No detail has been overlooked. You can see it in the creative mixing of every material and finish, from high-gloss varnished wood to buttery soft leather, every joint and stitch has been crafted to perfection” said Vadim.

The fact that the 900 series is Dassault’s top-selling aircraft model (more than 500 sold to date) tells good things about its large-cabin platform. The Dassault’s Falcon 900 range has been considered to be one of the industry’s benchmark in terms of reliability, versatility and fuel economy ever since it was introduced at the start of the 2010’s. Much of this compliments is down to the impeccable engineering behind the 900 range, and the 900LX, with a lot of state-of-the-art tech, is the most advanced version of the Falcon 900 line.

The aircraft features things like a pair of High-Mach blended winglets that help reduce aircraft drag as much as 5%. The winglets help make the 900LX the most efficient airplane in its class, with a fuel burn up to 40% lower than most other aircraft in its class such as the G450 by Gulfstream or Bombardier’s Challenger 650. It is also capable of landing with a full load of fuel, which makes it possible to take off from, say Washington, DC and make a quick stop in New York before flying on to Europe.

The 900LX also has a very low maximum take-off weight of only 49,000lb but is still powered by three heavy-hitting Honeywell TFE731-60 jet engines, each with 5,000lb of thrust. This simply means that the aircraft has exceptional short take-off and landing capability. The aircraft’s landing distance – at typical landing weight – is only 2,415ft (736m). The 900LX can fly at a maximum altitude of 51,000ft, the same maximum altitude as the 7X and 8X. It can also fly nearly as fast, at 0.87 Mach. 

The Falcon 900LX also offers the latest in flight deck technology, in particular Dassault’s new FalconEye Combined Vision System and a new integrated Electronic Flight Bag solution, Falcon Sphere II. FalconEye is the first head up display (HUD) system to blend synthetic, database-driven terrain mapping and enhanced thermal/low-light images into a single view, providing unprecedented situational awareness to flight crews in all types of operating service, including fog, mist, snow and other severe weather conditions, day or night.

All these attributes and technicalities also sit on top of the fact that at the heart of the 900LX, is its commendable flight range of 4,750 nautical miles. That’s enough range to fly non-stop from places like Kuala Lumpur to anywhere in Asia and Australia. This range also allows the 900LX to serve private flight needs from Kuala Lumpur places even in the Middle East, Russia and Africa, not to mention with one-stop, it can fly to Europe and North America. Of course, the Dassault Falcons 7X and 8X do better but the 900LX caters for very specific needs as you can see. And as I mentioned, these days, lifestyle needs can trump those of a more dry nature and with Dassault’s 900LX, business jet owners are clearly spoilt for choice.