- March 10, 2021, 11:09 AM At 2:45 p.m. local time today, Dassault Aviation test pilots Bruno Ferry and Fabrice Valette pushed the throttles forward and lifted off on the first flight of Falcon 6X S/N 1 from France’s Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport. The inaugural flight launched the flight test phase of the widebody 6X, Dassault’s newest fly-by-wire flagship. Certification and entry into service are planned for 2022. Ferry—in the left seat—and Vallette logged about two hours and 30 minutes during the flight, testing handling qualities, engine response, and key systems while climbing to 40,000 feet and reaching Mach 0.80. “The 6X flew exactly as predicted by our models,” said Ferry. “From a pilot’s perspective, it flies like a Falcon, which is to say with perfect precise handling in all phases of flight. Fabrice and I are honored to have made the latest first flight in another fantastic Falcon.”