| Aruba Flight Simulator Club |
Falcon 20 |
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In March 2008 the Aruba Airport Authority donated a Dassault Falcon 20 aircraft (that was declared as scratch) to the Aruba Flight Simulator Club. Our intentions are to build a Flight Simulator in it with working instruments etc. Since it's a big project which will take a couple of years to complete we have setup this page for you to see the progress of our project. First some information of the Dassault Mystere Falcon 20 Country of Origin: France Engines: Two 20.0kN (4500lb) General Electric CF7002D2 turbofans. Performance: Max cruising speed 863km/h (466kt), economical cruising speed 750km/h (405kt). Service ceiling 42,000ft. Range with max fuel and reserves 3300km (1780nm). Weight: Empty equipped 7530kg (16,600lb), max takeoff 13,000kg (28,660lb). Dimensions: Wing span 16.32m (53ft 7in), length 17.15m (56ft 3in), height 5.32m (17ft 6in). Wing area 41.0m2 (441.33sq ft). Capacity: Flightcrew of two. Typical main cabin seating for between eight and 10 passengers, optionally for as many as 14 in a high density configuration. Production: Production ended in 1988 when the last Falcon 200 was delivered, by which time 38 200s and 476 20s had been delivered. The last 20 was completed in late 1983. History: The Mystère or Falcon 20 and 200 family remains Dassault's most successful business jet program thus far, with more than 500 built. Development of the original Mystère 20 traces back to a joint collaboration between Sud Aviation (which later merged into Aerospatiale) and Dassault in the late 1950s. Prototype construction began in January 1962, leading to a first flight on May 4 1963. This first prototype shared the production aircraft's overall configuration, but differed in the powerplant. The prototype was initially powered by 14.7kN (3300lb) Pratt & Whitney JT12A8 turbojets, whereas production Mystère 20s (or Falcon 20s outside France) were powered with General Electric CF700s. The first GE powered 20 flew on New Year's Day 1965. Throughout the type's production life Aerospatiale remained responsible for building the tail and rear fuselage. The Falcon 200 is a re-engined development of the 20 which Dassault first publicly announced at the 1979 Paris Airshow. A converted Falcon 20 served as the prototype, and first flew with the new Garrett ATF 3-6A-4C engines on April 30 1980. French DGAC certification was awarded in June 1981. Apart from the Garrett engines, the Falcon 200 (initially the 20H) introduced greater fuel tankage and much longer range, redesigned wing root fairings and some systems and equipment changes. The 200 remained in production until 1988. The Guardian is a maritime surveillance variant of the Falcon 200 sold the French navy (as the Gardian) and the US Coast Guard (HU-2J). AlliedSignal offers a Falcon 20 re-engine program with its TFE731 turbofan. More than 100 Falcon 20s have now been re-engined with 21.1kN (4750lb) TFE731-5ARs or -5BRs. Our Falcon 20 details Manufacture year: 1968 Last registration: PR-SUL Serial number: 129 Accident details: 13 Feb 2005 For unknown reasons, the aircraft landed with its undercarriage retracted. Nobody was hurt but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair. There were no fatalities. How we obtained this aircraft In 2007 our club started actively looking for an aircraft to build a flight simulator in. We approached several owners as well as the Aruba Airport Authority. In the beginning it was not easy as most of them showed no or little interest for our project. Early 2008 we got an answer from the Aruba Airport Authority that the Falcon was going to be soon available for removal and that our club was to receive it as a donation. Preparations quickly started so we could be sure to be able to remove it from the airport premises and store the aircraft. By March 2008 the official handover papers were signed. The removal The removal date (from the airport) was set for the 28th of March 2008. Before this several meetings were held to discuss removal methods, coordination, storage facility etc. Due to the short deadline date from the airport we had no other choice but to cut the wings off. This major task was done by the local Fire Department and took in total about 8 hours to complete. On Friday morning 28th of March all the different departments were on site and ready for the removal which started around 10am. Without much problems the airplane was swung over the airport fence by a crane from ARCOS. Once this was completed a towbar was attached to the nose gear and with the escort of the Police which closed and cleared the roads the Falcon was towed by the Aruban Airport Authority tow truck. Elmar (local energy company) and Aruba Cable TV helped out with their wires on the route to the storage which was in Balashi. Inspection for Tail removal On the 30th of October 2009 the board of the AFSC had an inspection of the aircraft with the goal in mind to remove the tail of the Falcon for easier transportation to its final parking spot. It was originally planned to cut the tail of as we did with the wings. During the inspection however, the board realized that it seemed more logical and practical to try to dismantle the tail. In the meantime we have gotten sections of the manual on how to do this and are coordinating with a mechanic and several other people to complete this job tentatively on the 28th of November 2009. Tail removal After a long debate on methods etc. we managed to remove the tail on the 22nd of May 2010. Move to its final location After a long time we were finally able to move our Falcon 20 aircraft to its final location. This happened on the 28th of October 2010. It was a long ride from Barcadera to Paradera (Jaburibari to be exact). The plan now is to build a simulator in it and use it as a guide for future pilots a/o FS fanatics. Our thanks to everyone who helped us so far. |
| Photos courtesy of Alejandro Ospina. |
| Video courtesy of Rubin Ponson. |
| Photos courtesy of Renier Flores. |
