Flying Colours Corp. Completes First of Eight Sparkle Roll CRJ200 Conversions

Ahead of this year’s Asian Business Aviation Conference, ABACE 2016, Flying Colours Corp., the North American MRO, completion and refurbishment specialist, has announced the first of eight CRJ 200 conversions, will be re-delivered to Joint Venture partner Sparkle Roll Jet Co Ltd. (SRJ) before the end of April.

The multi-class format required a new STC for China which the Civil Aviation Administration of China, CAAC, certified at Flying Colours Corp.’s Peterborough facility. This is the first time that a B registered CRJ aircraft has been reconfigured outside of China, and then returned on the same registry with the approvals taking place outside of China. The successful completion of the lengthy and complex process reflects the excellent relationship that Flying Colours Corp. has developed with the Chinese authorities and Transport Canada Civil Aviation, TCCA, which also participated in the STC approval.

The interior has been reconfigured from a regional aircraft formation to a 29 seat, multi-class, shuttle format. The aft section features 20 economy seats with an aft toilet, the middle incorporates four business class seats in two double club layout in the middle section, and the front cabin featuring a double club business class seat with facing three seat divan. In addition a small forward galley incorporating ovens and coffee makers, has been completely refurbished and modified. Externally the jet features the signature purple logo of Sparkle Roll in a custom paint application set against a white background. The striking new interior design incorporates customised black wood grain laminate, black leather seats throughout, a grey bespoke pattern carpet, and rose gold plating on buckles, lights and inlays. The styling resulted from collaboration between the Flying Colours and SRJ design teams.  The extensive maintenance schedule included very heavy maintenance on the aircraft including 48/96/192 month inspections, numerous service bulletins, and hard time-life limited part restorations and or replacements.

A Sparkle Roll team worked on site at Peterborough throughout the process, which has further strengthened relations between the Canadian and Chinese companies. A further three Sparkle Roll aircraft are now being worked on at the Peterborough headquarters.  As with the first jet, the next two aircraft will also be configured in multi-class configuration. The remaining five CRJ 200s will be configured in VIP executive format reflecting the Flying Colours CRJ ExecLiner format featuring 15 seats, an advanced inflight CMS system via Rockwell Collins Venue entertainment system, and a supplemental fuel auxiliary system, as engineered by Flying Colours Corp. specifically for CRJ conversions.

It is anticipated that on return to China in early April the first aircraft will be added to the SRJ AOC and become available for charter. “We are extremely proud of this achievement,” said John Gillespie, President & CEO at Flying Colours Corp. “The aircraft required extensive maintenance upgrades, as well as complete interior conversion and paint work. Fortunately we can handle all of these elements under one roof at our Peterborough facility, which meant that we could work on various projects at once, so reducing down time. We are very pleased with the outcome and know that Sparkle Roll value the quality and experience that we’ve been able to put into the project. We are looking forward to finishing the remaining multi-class aircraft before moving onto the VIP projects”

Flying Colours Corp. is already in discussions with Sparkle Roll about working on other airframes once the first eight aircraft are completed. “We have both learned a lot through this process and can use this experience to work on other aircraft types. This is a long-term relationship for us and one we value immensely,” concluded Gillespie. 

Flying Colours Corp. will be exhibiting at this year’s ABACE on booth P121.

About Flying Colours Corp:
Flying Colours Corp. is an Aviation Services company with facilities in Canada, USA, & Singapore. The company brings 25 years of experience to every facet of its business, which includes Green Completions, Interior Refurbishment & Modifications, Heavy Maintenance, Exterior Paint, Special Mission Modifications, and Avionics Installations.

Flying Colours specializes in all mid to large sized business aircraft, including the Bombardier Global Express and Challenger families, Dassault Falcon, Beechcraft/Hawker and Gulfstream models. Flying Colours is an Authorized Service Facility for Bombardier and a Bombardier Preferred Completion Center.