Chris Nelson and his team used hydrographic finish methods on the lavatory cabinet, vanity, aft dividers, pocket doors, drink rails, tables, left-hand forward galley, and right-hand forward entertainment cabinet with a design that was similar to a flat-cut walnut veneer with a grey background.
After being tasked with refinishing all the interior components for a Citation XLS in just 10 days, Duncan Aviation used its innovative hydrographic finishing process to deliver on its promise. The fleet operator and first-time Duncan Aviation customer knew the aircraft had to be back flying in 10 days, yet they wanted a completely new look.
“With any of our customers, the challenge is always downtime,” says Finish Shop Team Leader Chris Nelson. “When their aircraft is down, their flight schedules can be impacted greatly, and in this case, they simply couldn’t be down for more than 10 days. That was the challenge put before us. We accepted and knocked it out of the park.”
When Chris was initially consulted regarding this request, he knew he would have to get the shop and his team ready but that he could be successful with aggressive planning and scheduling.
“We had all of the tools and experience we needed to complete the job,” says Chris. “To make sure we met our client’s expectations and to ensure the project ran smoothly, we ended up making a few changes to the layout of our shop and added some specialized tooling.”
Project Manager Steve Devitt said there was some uncertainty at first when the idea came to life.
“Once we started planning and laid out a detailed schedule for every shift of every day, we all saw that we could be successful in meeting the time while adhering to the Duncan Aviation quality standard that is expected,” says Steve. “The teams did a fantastic job communicating and working together. The result reflected their efforts.”
The president of the aircraft management company said that the refurbishment exceeded expectations and looks better than new.
“The final product was nothing short of amazing,” he says. “The communication was excellent all the way through the project. In fact, it was so good I will be bringing more business to Duncan Aviation.”
Although the Duncan Aviation Cabinet Shop is among the best in the world, Chris estimates that this project would have taken more than double the time had it been completed using traditional methods to apply all new veneer to the cabinets. With downtimes being such a driving factor, the Duncan Aviation teams are always looking for ways to be innovative and deliver the Duncan Aviation quality that people will come back for.
“There were so many different team members and departments that got involved to make this project come together, it was amazing,” says Chris. “That’s probably the most exciting thing, knowing that there is such a talented group of individuals at Duncan Aviation creating solutions to meet the expectations of our clients.”
Watch the in-process video now: www.da.aero/videos/10-day-promise
The hydrographic finish technique is only limited by the imagination. The most difficult part can be choosing a design from the unlimited graphic options. Learn more about hydrographics at Duncan Aviation: www.da.aero/hydrographic-solutions