Permagard is helping Virgin Blue extend the lifecycle of 50 aircraft in its Boeing 737 fleet and save money at the same time. The company is applying its Permagard paint coating product to the company’s aircraft, eliminating the need for expensive repainting and saving fuel into the bargain.
Virgin Blue had planned to repaint its fleet every six years, but a six-month trial of Permagard showed that it would not only extend this but reduce the need for cleaning too.
The treatment involves the application of a polymer fluid that cleans the surface of the paint and restores it to the original colour. Once cured, the clear protective polymer layer provides UV filtering and high resistance to water and corrosive substances that damage aircraft paint.
Chris Plastow, aviation director for Permagard Australia, says: “The external water-based washing cycle is replaced with a quarterly service treatment. This will save tens of thousands of litres of water, in line with airlines’ strategies to drive environmental efficiencies.”
But the polymer-based coating has another benefit too. It makes the surface far smoother, so reducing the drag coefficient of the aircraft. Permagard claims that the fuel savings can be enormous – around 2-4% per aircraft. Plastow says: “Even a reduction of 1% per year could amount to a fuel saving of £1m per aircraft, so the costs savings can be huge.” Virgin Blue has now contracted Permagard to apply the product across its Embraer 170 and 190 fleet as well.
Virgin Blue had planned to repaint its fleet every six years, but a six-month trial of Permagard showed that it would not only extend this but reduce the need for cleaning too.
The treatment involves the application of a polymer fluid that cleans the surface of the paint and restores it to the original colour. Once cured, the clear protective polymer layer provides UV filtering and high resistance to water and corrosive substances that damage aircraft paint.
Chris Plastow, aviation director for Permagard Australia, says: “The external water-based washing cycle is replaced with a quarterly service treatment. This will save tens of thousands of litres of water, in line with airlines’ strategies to drive environmental efficiencies.”
But the polymer-based coating has another benefit too. It makes the surface far smoother, so reducing the drag coefficient of the aircraft. Permagard claims that the fuel savings can be enormous – around 2-4% per aircraft. Plastow says: “Even a reduction of 1% per year could amount to a fuel saving of £1m per aircraft, so the costs savings can be huge.” Virgin Blue has now contracted Permagard to apply the product across its Embraer 170 and 190 fleet as well.
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Source: Flight Daily News
