Flying Colours Corp. begins work on first three Sparkle Roll CRJ200 aircraft

Just six months after the joint venture announcement between China-based Sparkle Roll Technik Co. Ltd. (SRT) and Flying Colours Corp. the North American MRO, completion and refurbishment specialist, three of the eight B-registered CRJ-200 aircraft conversions are already in situ at Flying Colours’ Peterborough headquarters in Canada, with the work schedule well under way. The initial trio of aircraft is being reconfigured from regional jet layout to a mixed class shuttle format. Each cabin has been divided into three separate areas. The aft section incorporates a 20-seat economy section, the middle section four business class seats in two double club layout, whilst the front cabin will feature a three seat divan alongside a double club business class seat configuration. In addition an aft lavatory will be fitted whilst a small forward galley will be installed. The fully executive version of the Sparkle Roll CRJ’s will reflect past Flying Colours CRJ ExecLiner conversions with an advanced inflight entertainment system and a supplemental fuel auxiliary system as engineered by Flying Colours Corp. specifically for CRJ conversions being installed. The work schedule also includes heavy maintenance work on the aircraft. The design of the remaining five aircraft is still being finalized but it is anticipated a number of them will be refurbished in 15 seat ExecLiner configurations, a style mirroring a Bombardier Challenger 850, a format developed by Flying Colours that has already proved popular in the Asian region in past years. The first of the aircraft are due to be redelivered to SRT during July 2015, with one being completed every month until February 2016. Supporting the completion activity is a team from SRT who have been shadowing workers in key departments at the Peterborough facility since the beginning of the year. It is planned that the later conversions will have the interiors monuments manufactured in North America, but that the SRT technicians will complete the final installation in China.