In this year’s Best of the Best, we continue to honour the brands and people who have continued to create covetable products, even in the midst of a global pandemic. Here we have Dassault’s Falcon 6X win ‘best ultra-wide-body jet’ in the wings and water category
The Falcon 6X is Dassault’s latest affirmation that comfort begins with space. Introduced as the first ultra-wide-body business jet, the 6X will be 10cm taller (with 1.9m of headroom) and 25cm wider, at 2.5m, than both the 7X and the 8X. With a maximum range of 5,500 nautical miles and a cruise speed of Mach 0.85, the 6X can fly non-stop from Paris to Beijing. And that’s not even its top speed, which can climb to Mach 0.90, or 1,111km/hr.
Bespoke cabin designs for each client, which Dassault will oversee, can accommodate 12 to 16 passengers across different zones, including a relaxation area and a business centre. Thirty windows, plus a skylight, bathe the interior in natural light. The 6X’s filtration system is the same found in many hospital intensive care units, refreshing air up to 10 times faster than systems used in office buildings, a plus in COVID-19 times.
The 6X’s fly-by-wire technology makes flights more precise while reducing pilot workload. The plane requires less than 3,000 feet of runway for landing, and its low-speed, steep-approach capability allows access to more challenging airports, such as Lugano or London City.
We also admire its Falcon Eye technology, an industry-first vision system that combines terrain mapping with real-time night-vision thermal images, improving safety, especially during lousy weather or low-visibility conditions. More than the sum of its parts, Dassault’s newest aircraft pairs size with technology to create an award-worthy new class of business jet.
