Flying Colours Corp. delivers 100th Bombardier Challenger retrofit.

Ahead of this year’s NBAA-BACE Flying Colours Corp. has reached a significant milestone as its Peterborough facility re-delivered its one hundredth major retrofit of a Bombardier Challenger model. The Bombardier Challenger 604, delivered in the first week of October, underwent a major overhaul of the cabin, avionics, connectivity and fuselage. Minor maintenance was conducted as the same aircraft had undergone a 96 month check at the Flying Colours Canadian headquarters just over a year ago for its previous owner. 

The Peterborough design team worked with the new owner and current operator to create a stylish interior featuring a black and gold palette. In response to the request for a contemporary cabin including seats with improved comfort, the design team adapted Challenger 650-style seat frames, purchased from Rockwell Collins - Interior Systems, to feature molded armrests that arch perfectly to fit the curves of the arm. The six reclining individual seats, and complementary three place divan, were finished using a soft but durable black leather with a perforated insert, medium-beige colored leather accent panels, and a single contrasting seam stitch trim, to bring a modern, yet sumptuously comfortable feel to the cabin. The light trims, buckles and control panels feature a matt gold to contrast with the leather. The customized monuments, including side ledges, panels, and doors are finished with a gloss anigre veneer with each fold out table incorporating a matt-gold inlay accent. 

The private owner also took the opportunity to update cabin-connectivity with the Gogo AVANCE L3™ air-to-ground connectivity system installed to provide WiFi access for voice, email, web browsing, moving maps, and a selection of movies and TV programs across the North American region. Passengers will also enjoy inflight entertainment courtesy of the Rockwell Collins Venue™ system with new monitors installed at the front and aft of the cabin. The high-clarity touchscreen displays and intuitive controls optimize management of the cabin environment. Both crew and passengers can control lighting, temperature and entertainment choices, as well as view Airshow® moving maps, from their own personal digital devices. Cabin crew will also benefit from a completely modernized galley which features a new TIA microwave, customized coffee maker, as well as generous storage. 

The flight deck was also treated to a major overhaul with Rockwell Collins’ Future Airspace Navigation System (FANS) 1/A installed to ensure improved situational and environmental awareness. The upgrade was combined with installation of soon-to-be mandatory ADS-B Out tracking equipment, for which Flying Colours holds the STC on Challenger 604 types.

The dedicated Peterborough paint shop revitalized the fuselage with a paint job refelcting the interior colors. A partial gold stripe sweeps from the tail to midway along the fuselage and sits above a full black stripe that sweeps in an arc to the front of the aircraft. 

“The brief from the owner was to deliver an as new aircraft which is what we did. Our design house created a stunning interior, our avionics team upgraded the flight deck and connectivity and our interiors team installed the beautiful new seats and monuments,” says Sean Gillespie, Executive VP Flying Colours Corp. “The owner was upgrading aircraft size and recognized the value in a buying pre-owned jet and customizing it to his style and needs. We’re pleased that our hundredth Challenger project was such an interesting one, it’s a significant achievement for our team.”