Duncan Aviation has fully-refurbished a Gulfstream V interior in a nautical style from its MRO facility in Provo, Utah.
Stepping away from the common grey and beige neutral tones of business aircraft, Duncan Aviation has taken on the Gulfstream V’s makeover as a creative project, manned by Senior Lead Designer Molly Pfeiffer and Carlo Borromeo, owner of BorromeodeSilva.
“Working with a customer who is open to creative and fun designs is one of my favourite things to do,” said Pfeiffer. “Each individual detail of this aircraft had a unique aspect that came together to produce something absolutely beautiful. The colours and finishes were inspired by the Albatross we refurbished years ago,” explained Pfeiffer. “He was searching the internet for inspiration and came across photos of the Albatross. He loved how the wood tone and green looked together.”
The seats are upholstered in two-tone light and dark green leather, hand-cut at Duncan Aviation’s facility, and accompanied with a herringbone fabric insert and larger headrest. The flight deck has been refurbished to match, with the same dark green leather seats, light green frames, dark green leather for the sidewalls and a loop carpet to match the cabin’s silk carpet. All the metal components are plated with an Almond Gold finish that was also used in the rest of the aircraft.
“These are some of the most handsome seats I’ve ever done,” said Pfeiffer. “They remind me of a custom-tailored men’s suit with clean lines, pull details, and hidden seams. The simple design and patterned fabric created a clean look that is interesting and draws you in.
“The larger headrest fits the head better, and gives of a more predominate appearance,” Upholstery Team Leader Brandon Crosby commented. “A lot of the time with smaller headrests, it hits the head at an odd spot. When the larger headrests are up, there is more surface cushion for the head to relax on.”
The drink rails and table boxes have been updated to appear sleeker and modernised, with custom cupholders to the owner’s cups and metal plating along the side of the tables. To fit the nautical theme, given that Borromeo had also designed the owner’s yacht, the aircraft has been modified to have porthole windows and Luxury Vinyl Tile flooring that resembles the teak wood planks often used for yacht decking.
For the surfaces, a hydrographic film was used to mimic stone. The drink rails, credenza top, and countertops were all hydrodipped with the film, and the table boxes, tabletops, and grab rails were hydrodipped with a carbon fiber film. Meanwhile, the upper sidewalls were vinyl-wrapped with a mock straight grain, light oak veneer.
To suit the owner’s requests, soundproofing blankets and a 100 per cent silk thick carpet have been installed to reduce noise, as well as thick-pleated curtains on the windows and around the conference table area. The tech was refreshed, with Prizm lighting upgrades to change the colour and lighting temperatures, an Alto Cadence sound upgrade, and Collins CMS Venue that pairs with touchscreen monitors in the armrest. Finally, the Gulfstream V was installed with Starlink in-flight connectivity.
“At the end of the day, my design is nothing without the craftsmanship of our teams being able to bring it to life,” said Pfeiffer. “It’s not your standard aircraft; it has so many unique details woven throughout the interior and everyone here was so patient and really executed those details perfectly. I couldn’t have been happier with how the final product turned out. It was even better than I envisioned.”
Photo: Duncan Aviation
