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Flying Colours, the North American refurbishment and completions specialist, has delivered an enhanced carbon-copy of the innovative red, white and black carbon fiber cabin, which was originally designed for a Bombardier Challenger 850 in 2013.
The same customer’s pre-owned Bombardier Global Express left the Canadian company’s Peterborough, Ont. facility this week, having received an equivalent makeover.
To faithfully emulate the stylish cabin appearance, Flying Colours’ designers referred to the first design, and they made a number of engineering and style adjustments.
“Everything may seem the same, but a lot is very different,” said Eric Gillespie, executive vice-president of Flying Colours. “We had to take into consideration the larger cabin, the different type of usage, and the high standards of the Global to recreate the same look and feel.”
The floorplan was modified to accommodate a new configuration in the mid-section, per customer request. Two seats opposite the central divan were replaced with a four-seat conference group incorporating new Rockwell Collins Global seats. The shape of the existing cabin seats’ head and arm rest were changed, and the seat-swab was made larger to match the newly installed mid-cabin layout. All the seats were upholstered in pure white leather with a carbon fiber armrest accent.
The cherry-red divan, which provides a splash of colour in the mid-cabin, is complemented by a second black three-seat divan in the aft section. The original fabrics for the seating and soft furnishing were replaced with new, improved materials to support the increased usage that the Global range allows.
Behind the scenes, the installation of Honeywell’s Ka band JetWave system required the addition of an aft LRU radome and antenna to radically update the connectivity. Faster, richer data transfer enables live streaming and Wi-Fi access across multiple personal devices throughout the cabin.
Monuments comprise predominantly black and grey carbon fiber veneer, finished with an ebony wood edging. The colour scheme continues through the upgraded galley and washroom, which feature bright white countertops. Tai Ping’s handmade carpet showcases a white branch design providing definition to the black background. Throughout the cabin, satin nickel finishing on all the metal work complements the elegant style.
“The devil was in the detail with this aircraft,” says Gillespie. “We had to retain the original look which meant ensuring a lot of the updates were essentially invisible. It speaks volumes that our design engineers and installation technicians can adapt an interior for what is essentially a completely different airframe. It also highlights that our designers have a talent for staying ahead of the trend curve, as the cabin looks as fresh and exciting today as when we first showed it to the client four years ago. That’s not an easy feat to achieve.”
On completion, the exterior displayed a new customized paint scheme featuring a distinctive charcoal grey and gold pattern. Flying Colours also conducted the pre-buy inspection and customer-requested maintenance inspections, which ran in parallel with the interior modifications.
The project took approximately six months to release. “The customer was clearly delighted with our initial design, which was one of the industry’s first to feature so much carbon fiber, and is extremely pleased with the new-look Global. Refurbing the cabin has given him an as-new aircraft, completely personalized to his taste, within a short timeline and budget. It shows how much you can achieve with great design and engineering. We don’t often get to repeat and improve a design. We are already looking forward to the next version,” added Gillespie.
