Germany-based MRO and modifications specialist General Atomics AeroTec Systems (GA-ATS) has carried out a completely new paint job for a Global 7500 at its VIP Paint+ Shop at Munich-Oberpfaffenhofen airport.

The aircraft was delivered 'green', so straight off Bombardier's production line with a bare aluminium surface and only one protective primer layer. It was given a completely new livery in a process that included the application of the functional corrosion protection, a sanding primer and the manual filling of all rivets in the fuselage area. This was followed by the multi-coat metallic paint and the final step was the clear paint finish with two coats.

The jet was given a 25m stripe design from the tail to the cockpit. A total of eight colour shades were mixed from three different orange and red colours to create an even, homogeneous colour flow from light to dark over the length of the design strip. The Eagle logo and all labelling were applied using stencils created on a computer.

Up to eight GA-ATS painters worked on the aircraft at the same time, requiring not only outstanding skills but also perfect coordination within the team.

Finally, the last cosmetic finishing touches were added and minimal colour adjustments were made in the final work step, the so-called detailing. Representatives of the customer and Bombardier were present at the final acceptance. They were very pleased with the work, and said that the execution was very well done for such a complex colour scheme.