New Plumes for a Grand Old Bird

Duncan Aviation—the world’s largest privately-owned business jet service provider—recently showcased a Hawker 800XP wholly-refurbished, inside and out, by the team of experts at the company’s full-service facility on Battle Creek, Michigan’s W. K. Kellogg Airport (BTL).

The aircraft left the Duncan Aviation facility having received engine inspections, airframe maintenance, winglets, Gogo AVANCE L5 broadband connectivity service, new stand-by instruments, and a stunning paint and interior overhaul.

In keeping with its owner’s ideal of a clean, sleek, and modern interior, Duncan Aviation Project Manager Carie Bruss—a lead aircraft interior designer at the time of the renovation—bedecked the Hawker with white upholstery, dark woodwork, white-gold accents, and LED lighting.

Working from a photo depicting a color-palette and seat design to which the Hawker’s owner was partial, Bruss fleshed-out a concept comprising diamond-shaped quilting, embellished pulls and stitching, and overall dimensions better suited to the owner’s physiology—thereby contemporaneously achieving his aesthetic aims and keeping him safer in his own aircraft.

The Hawker’s owner further tasked Duncan Aviation with removing a veneered lower sidewall trim-piece and replacing it with a metal-plated equivalent. To meet the objective, Duncan’s technician’s fabricated a new trim-piece by milling grooves into an aluminum strip. The updated look complemented the cabin’s motif while remaining consistent with the owner’s vision.

While the Hawker’s new cabinetry appears black, it is, in fact, a dark-chocolate-brown. Sunlight reveals the veneer’s undertones, imparting a sense of warmth to the otherwise elegantly austere interior.

The aircraft’s aft lavatory countertop was treated with Duncan Aviation’s hydrographic finish treatment in a white marble pattern; Prizm color-changing LED lighting was installed as well.

Desiring aesthetic continuity between his aircraft’s exterior and interior, the Hawker’s owner consulted with Duncan Aviation vis-à-vis livery and graphics—ultimately deciding on a white fuselage and a dark-gray empennage. Flowing gray longitudinal stripes along its fuselage exaggerate the 800XP’s length and coordinate smartly with its interior.

Ms. Bruss stated: “This Hawker has, by far, one of the most stunning interior and exterior color palettes.”

Duncan Aviation BTL lead designer Juck Bauder, who assisted with the Hawker’s refurbishment, remarked the aircraft, when delivered, bore no resemblance to its former appearance.

“If I hadn’t been a part of the project, I wouldn’t have believed it’s the same aircraft,” Bauder asserted. “The transformation was that dramatic. The transformation from what the aircraft looked like coming in to what it transformed into was stunning.”

FMI: www.DuncanAviation.aero