Flying Colours, headquartered in Peterborough, Ontario, earned a Public Services and Procurement Canada contract relating to the fleet of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Air Services Branch.
The agreement will see Flying Colours, which has previously worked with the RCMP, provide exterior aircraft paintwork and refinishing services on an as-required basis for an initial period of two years, with the potential to cover a period of up to eight years.
The first aircraft, a Pilatus PC-12 turboprop, was inducted at the Flying Colours Peterborough facility at the end of March. A second PC-12 is confirmed to arrive in October 2023. The RCMP aircraft will be painted aviation gray with a three-stripe scheme in navy blue, federal yellow and toreador red, with the organization’s insignia bisecting the red and yellow stripes. The RCMP logo, which features a uniformed officer mounted on a horse, will be painted on the tail in navy blue.
The RCMP operates a fleet of 25 fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft from 19 air service locations in 11 provinces and territories across Canada. The fleet includes Airbus H145, H125 and H120 helicopters, Cessna 206 and 208 turboprops, De Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otters, Quest Kodiak and Pilatus PC-12 fixed-wing aircraft.
Flying Colours explains its paint hangar features a pressurized cross-draft paint booth equipped with 168 lights that simulate natural daylight to optimize paint colour matches and visibility for technicians. The sanding, paint, purge, and cure application sequence reduces environmental impact through intelligently designed air recirculation and exhaust systems, according to flying Colours, decreasing the heat needed to operate while reducing paint emissions released into the air.
“I know our team is looking forward to honouring the force with the highest quality work and are excited to be applying the emblematic logo onto the aircraft,” said Eric Gillespie, Executive VP, Flying Colours.
