For more than 30 years Flying Colours Corp. has continually supported clients to make sure their aircraft are available to operate safely and reliably when they need them. Even with the current challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic we would like to assure you we are maintaining this commitment to our customers by taking the necessary steps to safeguard continued operations at our facilities.
The public health and safety of our employees, our customers, and all visitors to each of the Flying Colours Corp. locations is our top priority while providing continuity of service to our customers. We have implemented a number of procedures to match the government edicts to safeguard our working environment, and all those operating within it, to ensure seamless operations continue and would like to share these with you.
Work environment: Our facilities are always pristine but at this time we are taking extra precautions to make sure all areas, particularly high frequency locations, are regularly cleaned with appropriate cleaning materials. We are also reducing the number of people on site by enabling employees, where the work scope allows, to work from home by providing secure remote access to data and information as needed.

Travel: We are asking colleagues that have travelled within the last 14 days to self-isolate for the recommended fourteen day period, this extends across the board from our apprentices to senior executives, there are no exceptions. New travel restrictions that align with recommendations from the WHO are also in place to further reduce the chance of contamination.

Hygiene: We have installed hand sanitisation stations at regular intervals around the facilities and are recommending that our employees are familiar with all the necessary hygiene processes to minimise risk. We are regularly reminding them of the changing situation and encouraging them to take responsibility for their hygiene levels at all times to limit the virus spread.

Aircraft hygiene: All aircraft arriving for maintenance have a quarantine period and are thoroughly disinfected using an industry approved product to reduce the risk of contagion. Our cleaning team are working hard to ensure that the relevant hygiene protocols we have implemented are followed at all times.

Social distancing: We have asked all our colleagues and visitors to respect the need to keep at least a two meter distance from each other and are regularly reminding them. On aircraft we are ensuring that workers are keeping a safe distance from each other. We are also minimising movement between buildings at all our sites.

Health: We are monitoring our teams and sharing information about the symptoms of COVID-19. If any colleague or visitor shows signs of sickness, we are asking them to immediately self-isolate themselves, and asking anyone showing signs of illness at home to stay quarantined and contact a health professional.

Flexibility, Innovation and Integrity: Never have our watch words had such potency and it is these principles that are guiding our approach to the current situation. We will continue to operate to the best of our efficiency to ensure your assets keep flying. Most importantly we will continue to respect the guidelines to prevent the spread of the virus. We respectfully request that you join us in this mission to mitigate the risk of further infection.
Finally, our thoughts and good wishes go out to anyone in our network whose family, friends and colleagues may have been negatively affected.

Your sincerely,
John Gillespie

Flying Colours Corp., the North American maintenance, repair, overhaul and completions business has officially opened the doors of its newest, largest and most advanced paint preparation and application facility at its Peterborough, ON. headquarters. The new purpose-built, state-of-the-art facility gives Flying Colours the capacity to paint any size business aircraft including Bombardier Global 7500, Gulfstream G700 types, as well as narrow body executive airliners such as the A220 or B737-900 models, for an elite clientele.  The first paint job is already in process on a Bombardier Global aircraft.

Incorporating the latest technology to support the growing demand for expert paint work for in-service and new-completion aircraft the paint shop is designed with functionality and sustainability in mind. Fully computerised and climate controlled, the pressurized cross-draft paint booth measures an impressive 138 ft wide and 158 ft deep with the tail height reaching 55 ft.  The new booth is equipped with 168 energy efficient lights that simulate natural day light to optimise paint colour matches and visibility for technicians. The sanding, paint, purge, and cure application sequence reduces environmental impact through intelligently designed air recirculation and exhaust systems which decrease the amount of heat needed to operate, while reducing the amount of paint emissions released into the air.

The expanding team of paint technicians offers a variety of paint techniques including electro-static applications. The business is also using the opportunity to move away from chromate primers to non-chromate products, to deliver improved specifications and conformances for the aviation industry to improve the paint finish, reduce waste, and make a positive impact to worker’s health and environmental protection. The experienced paint team will maximise the efficiencies of the shop to improve turnaround times, offer a wider range of paint techniques and apply the unique and unusual designs requested by many customers.

The inauguration of the paint facility represents the start of operations in the new CAD$25 million hangar. When phase two completes, which is anticipated in late Spring 2020, the 100,000 square ft extension of the Peterborough headquarters will enable Flying Colours to accommodate the increasing number of clients requesting maintenance, interior modifications, avionics upgrades and paint work to be performed simultaneously. The ability to run projects in parallel reduces downtime, maximizes budget and ensures projects complete on time.

“We are in a strong growth period and the additional paint shop adds real value to our existing paint facilities.  Once the entire expansion is complete, this fourth paint shop will support our strategy for providing complementary aviation services, at an even greater scale, in one location,” said John Gillespie, President and CEO of Flying Colours.