Canada-based aviation services company, Flying Colours Corp, has announced plans to build a fourth hangar at its headquarters in Peterborough, Ontario, with the intention of expanding its capacity for completion, refurbishment and maintenance of large jets.
The hangar, due to open in mid-2019, will be divided into three zones. Firstly, a 40,000 sq.ft (3,716 sq.m) climate-controlled paint shop will supplement the facility’s two existing paint shops and 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 40,000 sq.ft (3,716 sq.m) area has been designed to enablesimultaneous heavy maintenance and/or interior work on four aircraft of up to the size of the Global 6000. 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 20,000 sq.ft (1,858 sq.m), bringing the hangar footprint to more than 100,000 sq.ft (9,290 sq.m).
According to Flying Colours, the expansion has been driven by the long-term need for increased capacity as “customer demand reflects renewed growth in the business aviation sector”. The company has also indicated that 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, augmented by the upcoming ADS-B Out mandate in the North Americas.
With this growth in mind, Flying Colours Corp has further expansion plans, including a fifth hangar at its facility in Chesterfield, St. Louis, Missouri, scheduled for inauguration on December 1, 2018. The 30,000 sq. ft (2,787 sq.m) 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 18,000 sq.ft (1,672 sq.m) of customer lounges, office space and storage area will form the second floor of the facility.
“We were literally running out of space to deliver all the services that our clients were requesting, so we 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.”
