Falcon 8X sets new cross country speed record
Dassault’s Falcon 8X recently set a new coast-to-coast speed record, flying from Santa Monica’s notoriously short 3,500 foot runway to Teterboro, New Jersey.
The flight took just 4 hours and 28 minutes with overall poor tailwinds, averaging just five knots, over the trip.
The mission, with four passengers and 200 pounds of payload, beat a previous speed record by 24 minutes, which was set when Santa Monica’s runway measured 5,000 feet. Santa Monica represents a specific challenge because of the 3,500-foot runway length and a strict noise abatement departure procedure. The airplane needed less than 2,000 feet of runway upon landing and a balanced field length only of 3,200 feet when it departed at 8:08 a.m. local time. The departure procedure and climb-out measured significantly below the 95 dBA SEL sound limit. The 8X landed in Teterboro at 3:36 p.m. local time.
The record is pending official ratification by the National Aeronautic Association (NAA) in Washington, DC.
Since its entry into service in late 2016, the Falcon 8X has been widely recognized not only for its superior performance, including its ability to land at airports like Aspen, Lugano and Gstaad, Switzerland with challenging approaches that typically limit access to very few ultra-long range business jets.
