It’s a bird…It’s a plane…It’s… a fish?
The commissioned design on Duncan Aviation’s newly acquired Pilatus PC-12 reflects Board of Directors Chair Todd Duncan’s passion for fishing and the outdoors, and highlights our talented team members who were able to bring
the vision to life. From the one-of-a- kind iridescent paint scheme, to the modern and sophisticated interior, there’s much more than what meets the eye.
At Todd’s request, EMEA Aircraft Sales & Acquisitions Rep Leah Alexander acquired a 10-year-old Pilatus PC-12 early in 2023 and immediately added the aircraft to our flight department.
“Todd had been interested in a PC-12 for some time, and we started serious acquisition
discussions early in 2021,” says Leah. “Nevertheless, with the understanding that any aircraft would also be placed in our fleet in support of the company’s
operations, I performed detailed mission and budget analyses based on our flight department’s actual trips and compared a number of models, including the Citation M2, Excel XLS, several in the CJ series, as well as the PC-12s.
The door was open to pursue other good fit models, but it was clear that a PC-12/47 in particular was both a good fit for the operation and the most desired model. The challenge was then to find a PC-12/47 with a great pedigree at a time when inventories were shrinking and prices were rising. A Colorado- based dealer who knew we were seriously looking brought this one to our attention before it was going to be openly marketed for sale.
“This aircraft truly checked all of the boxes,” says Leah.
The PC-12 was a well-used aircraft that had more than 4,000 hours total time and desperately needed avionics modifications/ upgrades, heavy maintenance, new paint, and a new interior.
We knew just the place to make this happen.
Todd Duncan knew the bar was high, and it would be difficult to emulate the popular and easily recognized paint schemes on the other company-owned aircraft.
“I tell people who have seen the one-off paint work on our company-owned aircraft that they are really the responsibility of my mother and father,” says Todd. “This one, was on me. I knew I had a high bar to clear and it was going to be difficult. I leaned heavily on my dad for advice throughout the entire process.”
Matterhorn white with a stripe?
…far from it.
Todd has always had a passion for fishing and the outdoors. He has especially fond memories of fishing in Canada with his dad.
“I was hooked as a little kid,” says Todd. “I’ve done it ever since I was little. I love taking my friends and family just like my dad did with me. It’s just something I love doing.”
When asked to describe the paint scheme, Todd says it’s an interpretation of what fishing is.
“It’s not a literal fish, it’s the experience,” he says. “To me, it’s about the experience you get when you go fishing, whether it’s a pond here in Nebraska, or somewhere more exotic. You load up all your equipment, grab the fellas, and go. That’s what this thing was built for, and I’m just so excited to take this all over the world.”
The commissioned design was created by Derek DeYoung.
“I had always admired Derek’s work” explains Todd. “He’s a famous artist in the fishing world, and I noticed his work years ago. I was
in a fishing store and saw an Abel fishing reel that had been hand- painted with his designs, and I fell in love with it.”
Aircraft Sales & Acquisitions Rep Robert Suarez contacted Derek, explained the situation, and asked if he would be interested.
“I said ‘heck yeah, who wouldn’t want to design a paint scheme for an airplane?’ I’m excited to work with anyone who comes to me with a great attitude and realistic expectation of my time,” says Derek. “We were able to come up with a plan and make it happen.”
Derek says the first thing Todd told him was that he loves going to Canada, and that they take the plane on a lot of fishing trips. He also said he was looking forward to landing the aircraft there and seeing people’s reactions.
Todd had told Derek that he’s a freshwater lake kind of guy, and loves the northern pike, muskie, and walleye. He wanted to look at the aircraft and be reminded of a freshwater fish.
Derek presented Todd with four designs. After back and forth about the technicality of painting an aircraft with these exquisite designs, and questioning if it could actually be done and how it would look, they decided on a design that closely reflects the northern pike, and matches Todd’s initial vision of landing the plane in Canada.
“Northern pike are moss green with ivory-colored oval spots,” explains Derek. “I don’t just glance at fish. I try to find nuances and colors that maybe not every pike has. A fish’s colors and patterns change with the lighting. Things can happen like a hologram and different colors show up purely based on the way you look at them. I knew the plane was something that we couldn’t go way complex on, based on the limitations. But I couldn’t just do a moss green plane with ivory oval spots; that was not an option.”
The final design has an iridescent purple nose that fades into green with ivory spots that turn warm yellow toward the belly of the aircraft.
“It’s a beautiful interpretation of a northern pike,” says Derek.
To come up with the design, Derek took a schematic of the plane on his iPad and digitally painted it. The 2D design suggested how it would look, and the paint department had to decipher how it would apply in 3D. Derek said the final product was as close as you could get with the type of application they were doing.
Derek says it was an exciting and fun process.
“This was one that took some patience and didn’t happen overnight,” he says. “I can’t wait to see Todd’s reaction the first time he touches down in Canada for a fishing trip.”
Paint Layout Technician Stacy Finch and Paint Crew Leader Trevor Reinke were ready for anything Todd could throw at them.
“This was different from anything we’ve ever done,” says Trevor. “A lot of the projects we work on are cut and dried. This was a little more than that, and we never had any doubts.
My initial shock when I got the portfolio of renderings was, ‘Oh, my!’ The hardest part was getting started, so from there, we got to work.”
After receiving the artist’s renderings, Stacy came up with his own version of the design with the shapes that would fit the aircraft to scale, and made stencils that he could cut out. He also heavily researched the artist’s work.
The challenge with this paint scheme, aside from the obvious, was getting the blends and fades the way they were intended while trying to keep the correct shapes and the artist’s concept true. When Stacy and Trevor first looked at the artist renderings, they noticed there weren’t any hard edges.
“All of the shapes were faded on the edges, so we had to find a way to make the shapes and soften the edges as we went,” Stacy says. “It was challenging and took a little more time, but we were able to pull it off.”
To get those soft edges, the team outlined the shapes with foam tubing.
“It was a simple solution, and worked exactly as we expected,” says Stacy. “It was something we’ve never had to try before.”
They both say there was a lot of preparation, and it was rewarding to know that Todd had confidence in them.
“Knowing Todd had confidence in us helped a ton,” says Stacy. “It made everyone on the team feel good about themselves and the work they do. Everyone communicated well and had the same vision, so it was no surprise we pulled this off.”
Trevor says he is proud of the team. “They got the desired result,” he says. “It was great to see Todd that excited. When he walked through the door to see the plane for the first time, he was either going to love it or he wasn’t. And, he did.”
The aircraft featured 16 formulated colors. All were pearls, three of which were tri-coats. There are also about six to eight more colors that were blended to create some of the transitions and high- and low-light areas.
Check out the video showing how this fish-tale came to life.
Still need more?
Visit our dedicated PC-12 page here.
Todd says what really got him excited about this project was when he saw some of the Duncan Aviation Paint team look at him and say, “You know. We can do this. We can pull this off, and it’ll be fantastic.” He specifically remembers Paint Team Leader Brandon Boyer looking at him and saying that they can make this scheme happen, and it will be absolutely beautiful.
“It was a real team effort, and they stood behind their word,” says Todd. “They pulled it off. Having the creative talent behind you and the ability to do something different is the most fun a guy can have.”
Todd never intended for the exterior paint scheme to be replicated in the interior. He thought it should be separate in the way it looks and feels. Inside the aircraft, he was shooting for a Western Nebraska feel with natural colors and leathers, with a small hint of the exterior scheme. The interior is highlighted by unique stitching, hydrographics, and a few Easter eggs. It provides a homey feel that is elegant, bold, and custom.
Designer Jaime Blanken describes the cabin as cozy, yet modern and sophisticated, with bold pops of color on the conference tables and contrast stitching on the seats.
The seats are undoubtedly the highlight of the interior. The front four seats are a lighter, two-tone Torino Lakestone and Torino Appalachian color with contrasting purple double-stitching. The back two seats are a dark, single-tone Torino Appalachian color with orange single- stitching. The colored stitching is a way to bring just a dab of color into the interior of the aircraft through the exterior paint colors.
The combination on the seats with different leather colors, stitching colors and sizes, and unique quilting on the centerpiece inserts give them a distinctive look that you won’t find anywhere else.
During a meeting with the Design team, Todd recalls a thought he had.
“I had one of those moments where I was like, ‘Wait a minute, it’s our Interior shop, it’s our team. If we want to have two different colors of stitching, we can actually do this. We have the capability.’” Todd says, “I love that type of detail, and I know our customers do, too. It’s a unique consideration.”
All of the cabinetry and drinkrails were created through a hydrographic process with a carbon fiber pattern that is the same color as the leather seats in the flight deck. The light-colored pattern opens up the interior and helps it feel more inviting. The inserts in the conference table are Copper Sheets that have a Dark Distressed Patina pattern and add a pop of color.
The seat backs were also hydrodipped, which is a first for Duncan Aviation.
“Since the seat backs are plastic, we were able to dip them and create a cohesive, unexpected touch,” says Jaime. “We also included a small Duncan Aviation logo on the back of the front four seats in a Purple Pearl to match the stitching when the sun hits it just right. The two back seats have an orange logo to coordinate with the orange stitching.”
Upholstery Master Specialist Tom Dirkschneider says this is the first time he’s done anything with applying hydrographics to a chair.
“They were in pretty rough condition when they came to us,” says Tom. “They look so good now, it’s unreal how far they’ve come. The hydrodipping is just another option that gives the customer a good, high-quality product.”
Todd gives credit to the Interior and Design teams for the incredible creativity they have.
“We’ve been able to have some fun with this,” he says.
After receiving the drawings for the seats, Tom marked out the lines and where the stitching would go, then transferred those marks onto vinyl to create the patterns.
He checked the width to 1/16th of an inch to ensure the sizes were correct and blended well. Between the backrest, the seat cushion, headrests, and leg rests, there were more than 60 patterns to make all the different parts of the chair.
The purple double-stitching on the front four seats was stitched using a special sewing machine, but the rest of the stitching, aside from the quilted inserts, was hand-sewn by the Duncan Aviation team in Lincoln.
Utilizing the new CNC quilting machine we have at our Battle Creek, Michigan, location, custom diamond-patterned quilted inserts were crafted to add texture and focus to the seat design.
The carpet was kept simple to allow the rest of the interior to shine. It is an Acousticord carpet that is normally only used for flight deck and baggage areas because it wears so well. All of the materials in the aircraft are durable and are able to be easily wiped down and cleaned after every trip.
“I didn’t want an interior that wouldn’t stand up to the task,” says Todd.
The lower sidewalls feature orange and purple wool fabric that brings in more color to contrast the rest of the cabin.
In addition to the customized paint and interior, a team at Duncan Aviation’s Satellite Shop in Denver, Colorado, outfitted the Pilatus’ flight deck with all new Garmin systems. The avionics upgrades provide the pilots with more information, greater redundancies, and additional safety features. The flight deck also features a new instrument panel, fabricated by Nimbus Aviation.
The upgrade provided a significant weight savings over the old systems and wires.
“We weighed everything, including the wires, and by adding the new equipment, the Pilatus is now 162.23 pounds lighter!” says Edduyn Pita, Manager of the Denver Satellite.
The team in Denver removed all of the original avionics and wiring, and replaced it with a G600 TXi, which includes new, color primary flight displays for the pilot and co-pilot, a Garmin Engine Indication System, and SVS (Synthetic Vision System) with terrain displays.
They installed a dual GTN 750Xi, providing GPS Com Nav/ Radar Indicator; the GFC600, an all-digital Autopilot; the GWX75 Radar system, and the GI275 Standby Instrument, which provides backup power in the event of an electrical malfunction.
The Denver team added USB outlets that connect to the GI275 for software updates. The pilots can also use the USB outlets to charge and power their tablets.
Edduyn and his team then began the painstaking process of finding and removing unused wires. They pre-made the wiring and harnesses the new equipment would need before the Pilatus arrived, saving the team two weeks of downtime!
Among the many wires they installed were wires for AirText, a text-only system. Pilots and passengers will be able to send and receive texts, and the cabin now includes two USB outlets for charging, too.
“I’m really proud of the team,” says Edduyn.
Before any of the paint, interior, and avionics could happen, however, the aircraft needed maintenance work. Because Duncan Aviation is not authorized to perform maintenance work on Pilatus aircraft, the aircraft needed to be taken to KCAC Aviation in Olathe, Kansas, where it received its annual inspection and numerous repairs.
Project Manager Jamie Wilson says it is gratifying to see a project as creative as this, from concept to fruition.
“Todd requested our team members’ input throughout the design process,” says Jamie. “It is wonderful working at a company where the owner wants team member input on their own aircraft.”
This aircraft highlights all the different artisans who work at Duncan Aviation. From the shop in Denver, to the Paint team, Interior team, and everyone else involved, an enormous amount of work went into this project and well over 100 team members played a role in the transformation.
“I absolutely love it,” says Todd. “You don’t really know what kind of fish, or if it’s even a fish. I love that about it. This is something that is unique to me. This is next- level and a lot of fun to be able fly to represent Duncan Aviation.”
Todd credits his mom and dad, and their passion for unique things and their love of contemporary art.
“They gave me the ability to be creative and have fun,” says Todd. “I can’t even imagine Grandpa Donald’s reaction. He’d absolutely love it and be enormously proud of us all. But, he’d be real interested as to where the story of Duncan Aviation is going in the next 10, 20, and 30 years, too.”
One word to describe this aircraft? There isn’t.
“For me, this was a heck of a lot of fun,” says Todd. “We will have this aircraft for years to come, and we recognize the team members who turned a vision into reality. It’s just incredible.”
It’s far from being just a fish. It’s the testament of an experienced group of individuals coming together to turn a vision into reality.