Dassault Falcon Service Completes First Scheduled C-Check on Falcon 7X

Dassault Falcon Service (DFS), a Dassault Aviation company-owned service center, recently completed an initial C-check on an in-service Falcon 7X, preparing the way for the start of routine overhauls.

C-checks are the largest scheduled maintenance events on the Falcon 7X and are due every eight years or every 4,000 cycles, whichever comes first. Although the fleet leaders on the very long range trijet, which was introduced onto the market in 2007, have not quite reached this limit, it was decided to move up the first inspection at DFS slightly to demonstrate and optimize the quality of the Falcon 7X overhaul process. A second DFS 7X visit, including a full cabin renovation and an installation of an EVS in addition to overhaul work, is already underway with others scheduled to follow by midyear.

The aircraft involved in the initial C-check is seven years old and has flown 1,340 cycles. The inspection, carried out at DFS’s Paris/Le Bourget facility, also entailed bringing the aircraft up to the latest operating standard, renovating the interior, repainting the exterior and installing a satcom unit and high speed wifi system.

“All the expertise needed for C-checks - maintenance, engineering, customer support, spare parts, cabin refurbishment - is available right here at Le Bourget or at the nearby Dassault Aviation design office in Paris, permitting the quick reactivity operators demand in the overhaul process,” says Jean Kayanakis, general manager of Dassault Falcon Service. “We expect this to be a great differentiator and help us become the global reference in C-checks for the 7X and future Falcon models.”

DFS has invested heavily in preparing the C-check program for the 7X. Two dedicated 7X hangars have been set aside at Le Bourget, staffed in double shifts. A second facility will open in Bordeaux-Mérignac in 2016. This new installation, which will be equipped to handle six aircraft simultaneously, will also include a paint hangar.