Duncan Ups Falcon’s Seating Capacity, Shaves Weight

Duncan Aviation rose to the challenge when a customer asked it to reduce the empty weight of his Dassault Falcon 900EX EASy while also increasing the trijet’s passenger capacity from 14 to 17.

The final design, created by Duncan Aviation aircraft designer Ken Reita, required an STC and the help of his team members from engineering, airframe, interior, and customer service.

“We regularly updated detailed spreadsheets with the weight of every single item, including coffee containers and life rafts, on that aircraft,” said Duncan Aviation senior completions sales rep Suzanne Hawes. “We even took out the carpet and weighed it. We pored over that interior, coming up with savings, ounce by ounce.”

The team switched out the seat and divan frames for lighter alternatives, removed a pocket door, installed thinner carpet, and replaced the stone countertops in the galley cabinet with lightweight laminate. They also saved 50 pounds by swapping out the insulation in the headliner.

Ultimately, the Duncan team fit 17 seats comfortably in the cabin and shaved 374 pounds from the aircraft’s weight. In addition to the pre-buy and cabin reconfiguration, Duncan Aviation performed an airframe 2-C inspection, EASy II avionics upgrade, and complete paint job.