Flying Colours Corp plans to build a fourth hangar at its headquarters in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, to expand its capacity for completion, refurbishment and maintenance on large jets. The hangar is expected to open in mid-2019.
The hangar will be divided into three zones. A 40,000ft² (3,716m²) climate-controlled paint shop will be added, supplementing two existing paint shops. This will be large enough to accommodate business jets up to the size of the Global 7500, BBJ or A220 (formerly Bombardier C Series). A second 40,000ft² (3,716m²) area has been designed to enable heavy maintenance and/or interior work on four Global 6000-size aircraft simultaneously. Two higher levels will be used for customer offices, a second design center, storage and general office space. The total office space will cover more than 20,000ft² (1,858m²), bringing the hangar footprint to more than 100,000ft² (9,290m²).
Meanwhile, at the company’s facility in Chesterfield, St Louis, Missouri, a fifth hangar is scheduled for inauguration on December 1, 2018. The 30,000ft² (2,787m²) hangar will be large enough to handle up to three parallel large-jet maintenance, avionics upgrades and interior projects, including Bombardier Global and larger Gulfstream models. The additional capacity dovetails with the expanded interiors and cabinetry workshop that opened in January 2018. A further 18,000ft² (1,672m²) of customer lounges, office space and storage area will form the second floor of the facility.
The next expansion phase represents Flying Colours’ largest investment to date and has been driven by the long-term need for increased capacity as “customer demand reflects renewed growth in the business aviation sector”. The company says the latest aircraft models require high-quality interior monuments for completions, an active pre-owned market has driven a rise in refurbishment demand, and the frequency of heavy maintenance checks has grown as more models become due. An evolving connectivity segment has also stimulated the need for more avionics upgrades across numerous platforms. This has also been augmented by the upcoming ADS-B Out mandate in the North Americas.
When the buildings are complete, more than 100 team members will join the family owned business across the two sites. The search for maintenance, interiors and paint expertise will lead the recruitment drive.
“We were literally running out of space to deliver all the services that our clients were requesting, so took the decision to increase our footprint significantly at both of our North American sites,” said Sean Gillespie, executive vice president, Flying Colours Corp. “The business aviation sector is more buoyant than it has been for some time, and with our Bombardier ASF status, our breadth of experience working on numerous different aircraft types, and the fact that we can offer a multitude of skills under one roof, so reducing aircraft downtime, is making us very attractive to a wider range of customers.”
