Dassault Falcon Service (DFS) has converted a Falcon 900B at its Le Bourget facility so that it can temporarily receive goods in its cabin. This modification was carried out in record time, only 8 days between the reception of the aircraft in the hangar and the approval by the French Civil Aviation authorities (DGAC) under a fast-track exemption (without STC).

Dassault Aviation specifies that no major modification has been made to the aircraft and that this conversion is readily reversible back to passenger configuration. By emptying the cabin of its seats and furnishings (with the exception of the galley area at the front), the capacity offered by the business jet thus modified is 13.5 cubic meters for just over 6.300 lbs (2.8 tons).

The goods are placed on the floor and secured using specific equipment. This temporary conversion involved customer service, engineering and operating teams from DFS as well as test and certification resources from Dassault Aviation.

The business jet, which is part of the DFS fleet based at Paris-Le Bourget for its on-demand charter activities, will now perform a completely different type of mission by transporting fabric intended for a factory located in Eastern Europe for making face masks. These masks will then be distributed in France, North Africa and other regions affected by the pandemic.

The French aircraft manufacturer specifies that the use of a business aircraft for this type of transport is considerably faster and offers greater flexibility compared to commercial air transport or ground transport. Air cargo capacities have in fact been considerably reduced in recent months with the immobilization of a very large part of the commercial passenger aircraft fleet worlwide.

Source: Le Journal de l’Aviation