Attention to detail

Companies like Duncan Aviation, Elliott Aviation, Heritage, Stevens, and Yingling (and many more) are doing amazing things with jet interiors, from clean-up and refurbishment to full-on interior design, and it is big business. At Duncan Aviation, which has several massive design and repair facilities throughout the Midwest, interior refurbishment and design are as much a part of this 67-year-old family-owned jet company as any other part of the jet care they specialize in.

Water stains on cabinetry? Sweat-stained seats? Broken window shades? Handsewn leather interiors? Within a company like Duncan, many small business units can take care of these needs. The “SWAT teams” at Duncan use this template for the interior refurbishment process: S—Survey aircraft interiors; W—Write prompt quotes; A—Artistically clean, touch-up, dye, correct; T—Transform appearance and functionality. The SWAT teams examine the aircraft and take care of small items that may not be part of the whole-aircraft scheduled service. The reason is aesthetics; small things such as touching up paint, spot dying leather seats, and resewing curtain glides quickly can give the interior a facelift.

Cabinetry

Duncan can construct complete new cabinets, card and executive tables, and closet doors in your galley, or its highly skilled team can transform your existing cabin interior. Interestingly, the craftsmen are usually not from aviation backgrounds; they can be experienced woodworkers or automotive specialists. They take your scratched, water-stained tables and cabinets and refinish and polish them to like-new status. Sand-polishing, high-gloss or satin finishes, new latching systems, and new veneers are all ways your cabin surfaces can be upgraded.

“A lot of our people do not come from aviation; they’ve usually honed their skills training somewhere other than in aviation,” said Tony Houk, SWAT services technician. “Many come from the automotive world where they are master technicians.” He adds that restorations can often come at a fraction of the cost of complete overhauls. New trends include satin finish over high-gloss and square latches instead of oval shapes. “Design and personalization on corporate and private interiors are really important to our customers,” he said.

Seats

That nasty sheepskin on your pilot’s seat might be comfortable, but it’s unsightly. Cleaning, “fluffing,” and reupholstering are also specialties in jet refurbishment centers. Here, staff sew on industrial sewing machines (not your grandmother’s Singer), create patterns, and adjust the stitching and fitting of leather seat covers to the aircraft owners’ desires. Seat repair and reupholstering are a large part of Duncan’s Lincoln, Nebraska, facility’s work. So much so that the hallways around the interior completions area is lined with needy seats.

Seamstress Katherine Wills says she loves making patterns and seeing the outcomes. “It’s all about customer service; there’s very few things we don’t offer.”

Houk says the sewing and upholstery team amazes him: “They are artistic, precise, and everything is uniform. Their work looks perfect.”

Wills agrees. “We create prototypes of the design and let the customer weigh in. That’s after they’ve worked with our design staff who help the customer sharpen their ideas.”

Seat repair also includes repairing parts such as the lumbar support, and the hydraulics for seat movement, convenience, and safety of flight. By the way—know how much it can cost to replace that seat with its unsightly sheepskin covering? Upwards of $70,000 to $110,000…per seat (cleaning is about $400 per seat).

Window shades

Little Johnny just cost you a pretty penny fiddling with the cabin window shades. Whether manual or motorized, jet window shades are delicate and intricate parts of your aircraft. The cabin window shade is usually constructed with a pulley system, and if the cable breaks, it’s an intense process to reconfigure it. In addition, maintenance on window shades is so complex and frequently needed, refurbishment companies like Duncan are often more reliable and faster than the manufacturer.

Duncan addresses repairs on manual shades; motorized shades are often sent back to the manufacturer. A cabin window shade motor can cost $6,000 to replace. Duncan made the decision to repair manual shades because they could turn them around faster than the manufacturer in most cases, so they invested in the equipment and supplies to repair them. Often the shades come to Duncan separately from the aircraft, are repaired, and then delivered to the aircraft owner and installed on site.

Leather

Leather hides are delivered and stored in hermetically sealed storerooms. Hanging on racks, the hides come in unique patterns and colors. The hides must acclimate to area weather conditions; a certain moisture content is desired, or the sewn seat cover will not fit or stay secure. One hide of leather has 50 square feet of usable material, so the staff inspect the hides and measure for best conditions. The hides are also inspected for imperfections, and computerized programs place the patterns on the hides for the greatest yield.

Colors and trends are always changing, but grays are popular. Wills says darker contrast stitching on lighter base colors is a trend she is seeing currently.

And in the design unit, the staff of professional interior designers laugh that customers want “that brand-new leather smell.”

Professional designers at jet refurbishment centers like Duncan are dedicated to assisting owners in selecting the interior materials and adding a personal touch to the overall aesthetic design. A daily project manager and designer usually provide oversight of each project. Owners can monitor the process and approve changes online, and all aspects of the interior project are completed in-house.

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