Business aircraft livery creator Happy Design Studio (Booth W105) has joined forces with aircraft painting and foil decal specialists to offer an end-to-end service for the creation and implementation of exterior designs. Having collaborated on previous projects, such as the award-winning Carboneum Experience applied to a Bombardier Global 6000, and subsequently on a Global 5500, Happy Design has partnered with German business jet MRO and painting company General Atomics AeroTec Systems at Oberpfaffenhofen and French decorative foil specialist Adhetec in Tarbes. The three companies are jointly exhibiting this week at EBACE.

Combining the experience and knowledge across all stages of the process has streamlined the operation to the point where livery applications can now be conducted in around 60 percent of the time normally needed. There also are cost savings, while downtime can be minimized by combining the paint work with other maintenance tasks.

The most exciting prospect, however, is the release of creativity and the ability to accurately apply finishes that the team brings, Happy Design owner Didier Wolff told AIN. Designs increasingly feature a combination of paint and foil, with the latter offering the possibility of being able to change liveries by overlaying existing finishes. The foil also offers the same level of durability as paint.

Adhetec has the unique ability to produce decals by projecting the desired imagery onto 3D models. The resulting stencils preserve the desired design effect while accommodating airframe curvatures, such as the cylindrical nature of fuselages and tapering tail sections. The use of foils also has benefits in terms of fleet applications, with the ability to produce similar decals in bulk.