Ultimate Jet #72

DESIGN I 34
O
livier Dassault, owner of the trijet, symbolizes and promotes
this ingenious France. The man, in turn political, entrepreneur,
pilot and appreciably artist is not in his first cooperation with
Didier Wolff. Indeed, Marcel Dassault’s favorite grandson had already
asked Happy Design Studio to produce the livery for his former
Falcon 10 in 2011. Almost ten years after this first experience, Olivier
Dassault wished that the Strasbourg designer draws the livery of his
new business jet, a livery outside the norms, probably summarizing a
more personal part of his multifaceted life.
At the crossroads
It is in this context that Didier Wolff drew the first sketches of
this resolutely «Frenchy» design. Working with a man like Olivier
Dassault undoubtedly remains an experience apart, and the values
he vigorously defends must have found their place as naturally as
possible on this giant canvas. For his first draft, Didier Wolff «insisted
to put blue, white and red references on this plane» by explaining that
this project was «literally at the crossroads of business aviation and
military aviation, but also a bearer of Olivier’s values» before adding:
«The finalized design reflects fully the ideal vision I had of this project».
The paint scheme borrows the variations of gray used on the Rafales
or the Mirages. Some typographical notes and clues evoke the name
Dassault historically linked to the military universe, the tricolor bands
obviously referring to the French Republic and the mandate of the
elected official. «Like a work, the paint scheme imposes a sense of
reading from the front of the plane, clearer, towards the rear, in other
words from business aviation to military aviation, the two universes
being thus linked by a deliberately smooth transition», underlines Didier
Wolff.
« To face »
This decoration carries in itself a number of symbols, «I worked
on it just as if I worked on the French Republic Falcon, as their
characteristics are close». It is the culmination of long hours of
reflection and the fruit of a compilation of half a dozen projects
submitted to the owner. «Even if Olivier did not give me any particular
instructions, he validated a very intuitively designed project in which he
simply recognized himself. Although he hesitated between two other
more neo-retro proposals, the Thermidor livery imposed itself naturally
«notes the designer before adding:» Once again, be attentive to the clues
sown by my clients remains the common thread in the creation of my
works. It’s a fairly long process, driven by curiosity and informationseeking.
Without this approach, customizing the livery is meaningless.»
Didier Wolff took up the idea of rings surrounding the air intake of
the engine nacelles. «This is an option that I love and that has been in
my drawers for years because it gives a lot of personality to an aircraft.
Like rings encircling the front of the engines, these rings are perfect for
hosting a name, a mention.» insists Didier Wolff who inscribes «To
face», the motto of the French Air Force Academy from which Olivier
Dassault comes.
Like the engine nacelles, each detail comes together logically like
the elements of a giant puzzle: «The original livery was slightly more
contrasted. So, I chose to lighten the colors so that the inscriptions
are visible without imposing.» Only the three-color bands extracted
from the color spectrum were produced with the exact colors of the
French flag, including a reference of perfectly pure white, unique in
the color charts available in aeronautics. «The other important aspect
for me was the lateral perception of blue, white and red. When we see the
plane in profile, the three-color stripes seem perfectly balanced in terms
of their dimensions, as if each was the replica of the other.» emphasizes
the designer.