Duncan Aviation has installed a Bongiovi Acoustic Labs audio system in a Dassault Falcon 7X aircraft at its full-service facility in Battle Creek, Michigan. The audio system is able to overcome a noisy cabin environment and reproduce high-fidelity audio. The integrated audio with patented signal-processing technology is combined with speakerless transducers that mount behind the interior panels in the ceiling and sidewalls to produce an immersive audio experience throughout the cabin.

In addition to the Bongiovi Aviation system, the 7X had a full cabin electronics upgrade that included the installation of a Collins Aerospace Venue CMS and a Honeywell JetWave MCS-8000 Ka-band in-flight connectivity system. As a world traveller, the 7X client wanted the reliable, continuous connectivity that the JetWave system provides.

The Venue delivers the audio output for the Bongiovi speakerless system, and the 47 transducers mounted beneath the headliner and in the upper sidewall panels throughout the aircraft amplify the sound.

Avionics sales representative Mike Morgan heard a demo of the Bongiovi system prior to its installation in the 7X. “The sound is impressive,” he says. “I'm excited to give our customers this additional option for high-end audio entertainment.”

Duncan Aviation's lead designer Heather Pridemore also collaborated with the customer's designer on an exterior paint scheme and an interior refurbishment that will give the aircraft a fresh look to go with its new sound.

The customer also requested the Aviation Clean Air (ACA) ionising system in their aircraft. The system safely and effectively deactivates airborne pathogens during flight. Duncan Aviation's engineering team developed the STC for the ACA system, making it the first ever installed in a 7X aircraft with an STC.

With three full-service MRO locations, 180 paint experts, and 12 aircraft designers, Duncan Aviation paints more than 230 business aircraft every year in a variety of paint schemes from Matterhorn white with one stripe to intricate artistic designs and colour-fade illusions. Customers are pleased with the results and most return when they upgrade their aircraft or add to their fleet. A Global 5000 customer recently requested that Duncan Aviation paint their recently delivered Global 7500.

The customer worked with Teri Nekuda, lead designer at Duncan Aviation's Lincoln, Nebraska facility, and lead designer Molly Foster at Duncan Aviation's Provo, Utah facility to develop a light gold and silver metallic paint scheme that emanated a feeling of elegance.

The aircraft was painted at Duncan Aviation's 53,000 sq ft paint facility in Provo, Utah, which has a two-zone air system that features down-draft air flow and automatic monitoring and alarms. The hangar accommodates multiple aircraft at once, so the paint teams are able to strip, sand, paint and detail on several aircraft simultaneously.

The facility was also built with the environment in mind, as it releases no waste products to the water or to the city of Provo and meets the strict air requirements set by the state of Utah and by the EPA. In fact, air from the hangar goes through an RTO (regenerative thermal oxidiser) that burns off the VOCs (volatile organic compounds), so more than 99.7 per cent of the air released is clean.

“Our goal was to once again exceed our customer's expectations,” says designer Foster. “I'm really pleased with how the paint turned out, but more importantly, the customer was delighted. It was fun to see their reaction when they first saw the Global. They were impressed, and love the way it looks.”