Bill Kerherve, chief test pilot for Dassault Aviation, and test pilot Philippe Deleume took the Falcon 7X simulation bench on its first virtual flight in December, testing the design’s fly-by-wire controls, according to the company. “I was particularly impressed by the superb handling qualities through the entire envelope,” said Kerherve. The simulation bench comprises a 7X flight-deck mockup coupled to a real-time simulation bench with an artificial environment projected onto a screen in front of the cockpit. Pilots and engineers can test simulated deployment of airbrakes, flaps, slats and landing gear at different weights, speeds and centers of gravity. Next year, Dassault plans to link the simulation bench with a global test bench, which will be fully representative of the business jet’s entire flight-control system, including hydraulics and electrical power generation.