Duncan Aviation’s full-service MRO facility in Battle Creek, Michigan, recently delivered a “dramatically modified” legacy Hawker 800XP. According to the company, the list of upgrades included fresh engine inspections and airframe maintenance, the addition of winglets, installation of a Gogo Avance L5 connectivity system, and a new interior and paint scheme.
Jack Bauder, one of Duncan Aviation’s lead designers who assisted with the completion, said, “If I hadn’t been a part of the project, I wouldn’t have believed it’s the same aircraft. The transformation from what the aircraft looked like coming in to what it [was] transformed into was stunning.”
Duncan Aviation project manager Carie Bruss explained that the Hawker’s owner wanted a clean, sleek, and modern interior, so the company created a “showroom” look by including white upholstery, dark woodwork paired with white-gold accents, and LED lighting. The aft lavatory countertops received Duncan’s hydrographic finish treatment in a complementary white marble pattern.
To create an exterior look that would enhance the interior, Duncan’s design team crafted a dynamic scheme that features a white fuselage with a dark gray tail and horizontal stabilizer highlighted by sweeping grey stripes along the fuselage and tail. “This Hawker has by far one of the most stunning interior and exterior color palettes,” remarked Bruss.