Dassault-Aviation Falcon 10 MER [in english]

TRANSPORT AND TRAINING AIRCRAFT

HISTORY

Development

In order to compete with the Learjet and De Havilland DH 125, both considered at that time as the most efficient jets worldwide, Dassault launched a study for a smaller version of their Falcon 20, based on experience gained with the MD.320 Hirondelle (swallow) prototype.
At the end of the sixties, a new generation of 2200 lb (1000 kg) thrust rated engines with a low fuel consumption was developed lead Dassault to conceive a 'shrank Mystère XX', named Mystère X, to be renamed Falcon 10 later on.
The concept was highly valued by Pan Am which ordered it in 1969, one year before the actual prototype's maiden flight.
The prototype first flew on December 1st 1970, with Hervé Leprince-Ringuet as the test pilot. The Falcon 10 is often referred to as the 'Tiny Mystère' because it was mostly inspired by the Falcon 20 and, indirectly, by the Mystère IV.
Equipped with two General Electric CJ 610 engines, its climb rate was equivalent to that of a contemporary fighter.
The full production version came out of Dassault's assembly line, first in Bordeaux-Mérignac and then in Istres.
It was equipped with two Garrett TFE 731-2 engines, and could accommodate up to 10 people, including the two crew members.

Falcon 10 MERs of the l'Aéronautique Navale (since 1975)

At the beginning of the seventies, the French navy went in search of a plane to perform various duties like military and political VIP transport, training missions on behalf of ships at sea, including calibration, radar, simulation of enemy planes, target detection and acquisition, radar and IFR training for student pilots.

The navy consequently ordered six Garrett TFE 73I equipped aircrafts, designated Falcon 10A Marine. These received a specific treatment preventing sea-induced corrosion. In 1973, a seventh plane (N°185) had to be delivered to replace N°39 which crashed in Toul, on January 30th, 1980.

The first two aircraft were built in Mérignac and the following at the Centre de montage Mercure, in Istres. The very first Falcon 10A, N°32, made its first flight in Mérignac, on March 12th 1975, flown by Pierre Varaut and Jean-Marie Barthélémy.

In section

In spring 1975, the SRL (Section Réacteur de Landivisiau - Landivisiau's Jet Engine Department), took delivery of two Falcon 10 MER (Marine Entraînement Radar - Navy Radar Training) to complete its fleet of MS.760 Paris.
This unit had three main misisons :
-IFR and night flying training for French Fleet Air Arm pilots based at N.A.S. Landivisiau.
-Service flights on behalf of the Navy's staff officers.
-Various support missions in the 2ème region maritime (second naval area) for Escadre de l'Atlantique (Atlantic Command) ships.

Every single operational FFAA pilot has to fly at least once on a SRL Falcon 10, be it for IFR training or to validate their qualifications.
Liaison missions include the numerous journeys entailed by the management of a naval force: for instance, some destinations may be as distant as Dakar.
As part of their assistance duties, Falcon 10 are used as 'fake assailants' for the benefit of ships' interception officers, enabling them to efficiently guide the on-board fighters towards the relevant targets.
They also accomplish another kind of task in the form of the A.O.D.O. flights (Acquisition d'objectifs/ Désignation d'objectifs - Target acquisition and designation), for the benefit of the Escadre de l'Atlantique's (Atlantic Command) warships. It consists in overflying ships, based on accurately known parameters, in order to control and calibrate ships' radars and firing systems. Finally, this squadron sometimes accomplish strike missions, i.e. simulated assaults against navy ships to test their radar surveillance systems.

*Year*	*Falcon 10's allotment to the S.R.L.*	*Year*	*Falcon 10's allotment to the S.R.L.*
1975	2 aircraft	1979	3 aircraft
1976	2 aircraft (No32 and 39)	1980	4 aircraft
1977	2 aircraft (No32 and 39)	1981	3 aircraft
1978	2 aircraft

On the 1st of September 1981, the SRL became the 57 S squadron.

In flight

In 1978, the 3.S squadron, based at N.A.S. Hyères - Var, took delivery of its first Falcon 10. Its missions were basically identical to that of the SRL: calibration, training, liaison, evacuation, support and so on.
In 1997, two of these Falcon 10 were transferred to flight 57.S, based at N.A.S. Landivisiau in Brittany

In 1981, the 57.S also based at N.A.S. Landivisiau succeeded to the S.R.L. It provides the same missions with the same aircraft (Falcon and Paris). In 1978, the Falcon 10 MER were retrofitted with the Agave Radar, the exact same model that equiped the Super-Étendard, the brand new fighter that was progressively being delivered to Navy operational squadrons. This ensured a seamless transition for training fighter pilots. In 1997, flight 57.S received three Falcon 10 from flight 3.S, thus becoming the sole user of the Falcon 10 MER in the entire French navy.
On Wednesday, November 15th, 2006 at 5:30 pm at NAS Landivisiau, under the presidency of Admiral Rostolan commanding officer of French Naval Aviation took place the ceremony of introduction into forces of Falcon 10 MER Standard 2. The standard 2 upgrade consisted in putting in the standards " OACI " (organization of the international civil aviation) of all the avionics of Falcon 10 so that this plane, entered service in 1975 within the squadron 57.S can adapt itself to the continuous growth of the requirements of the civil air traffic in equipments and in instrumentation. Falcon 10 is daily integrated into the civil air traffic in conformance with its missions of qualification in the flight without visibility of the jet pilots of naval aviation and communicatin/ liaison of very high authorities of Marine. This upgrade led by DFS (Dassault Falcon Service, subsidiary of Dassault Aviation, manufacturer of the aircraft) lasts 2 years and should concern in the years to come five other Falcon 10 of the Navy, all in service within the squadron 57. S

FALCON 10 MERs OF THE AÉRONAUTIQUE NAVALE

*Number*	*Delivery*	*Convoying*
32	*April 15th 1975*	*May 5th 1975*
39	*June 27th 1975*	*June 27th 1975*
*101*	*February 28th 1978*	*March 2nd 1978*
*129*	*April 2nd 1979*	*April 2nd 1979*
*133*	*July 4th 1979*	*July 4th 1979*
*143*	*April 15th 1980*	*April 15th 1980*
*185*	*January 24th 1983*	*January 24th 1983*

CHARACTERISTICS	(US)	(FR)
LENGTH	45 ft 5 in	13. 8 m
WINGSPAN	42 ft 11 in	13. 1 m
HEIGHT	15 ft 1 in	4. 6 m
WEIGHT	11 145 lb (min)/ 19 300 lb (max)	5 055 kg (min)/ 8 755 kg (max)
MAX SPEED	566 mph	912 km/ h
MAX RANGE	1 595 nm	2 900 km
POWER	6 460 lb	28. 8 kN

sources - acknowledgements :
"Avion Marins" Luc Berger - Dassault Aviation - 1998.
Avion de Combat du Monde - Éditions Atlas.
Air Fan N°280 (mars 2002).
Jets N°54 (juin 2000) et 55 (juillet 2000)
"Les commandements de l'Aéronautique Navale (1912-2000)" ; Major Norbert Desgouttes ; ARDHAN - 2001

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