Falcon 30-40

The Mystère 30, equipped with two Lycoming ALF 502D jet engines made its first flight on May 11, 1973 at Mérignac piloted by Jean Coureau and Jerome Résal.

Origins and prototypes

In 1964, Dassault-Breguet planned to construct a civil transport aircraft larger than the Mystère 20, equipped with Rolls-Royce or General Electric CF 700s, and able to transport 32 to 40 passengers over a distance of 1,000 km.

On March 25, 1964, an industrial agreement was signed with the German Siebelwerke-ATG Gmbh Corporation, which would participate in 35% of the manufacture of the aircraft and could bring in other German corporations. The Ansett Company expressed interest in April 1964, followed by the French Civil Aviation Department on May 15; on the 22nd, the American company, Eastern Airlines even planned to acquire 20 to 40 models.

On May 25, Benno Claude Vallières, encouraged by the welcome given the aircraft, adopted the principle of launching a prototype Mystère 30. For all that, the project was left on hold.


Production and operational experience

On October 2, 1967, Benno Claude Vallières took up the idea and asked the General Technical Department to study two versions of the Mystère 30, Transport and Executive. The latter would have a capacity for 8 passengers comfortably seated, and a large baggage compartment. This aircraft, unique for its type, would fly at 800 km an hour (430 knots) on secondary commercial lines. The aircraft did not go beyond the project phase.

At the start of the ’70s, the Corporation proposed a new version for 30 passengers.

The Mystère 30, equipped with two Lycoming ALF 502D jet engines made its first flight on May 11, 1973 at Mérignac piloted by Jean Coureau and Jerome Résal. On the 23rd, it was presented at the Paris Air Show.


After the first flights, it was decided to raise the capacity to 40 passengers (4 seats abreast). However, to conserve its original operating range, the aircraft needed a new wing. Two versions were then proposed for the same fuselage:

  • Mystère 30 (30 passengers, 950 nm);
  • Mystère 40 (40 passengers, 620 nm), in collaboration with Aérospatiale.

The completion of the Falcon 30 made it possible to solve complex aerodynamic and flight quality problems arising from the adaptation of a small aircraft with a large fuselage diameter, and heavy engines. These engines were relatively noisy, making them incompatible with the level of sound comfort passengers had come to expect.

Though orders had been taken at the 1973 Paris Air Show, the program was abandoned in 1975, as much due to the oil crisis as to the financial circumstances of the companies involved.