Gama to open UK paint shop for AW169s, AW1389s and H145s
Gama's new paint shop is due to open this month.
Gama Aviation is to open a new rotorcraft paint shop at its Rotary Centre of Excellence in Staverton, Gloucestershire in central England. Due to open this month, the facility aims to strengthen the company’s support for helicopter owners, operators and management companies.
“The new paint shop brings aircraft refinishing, repainting and livery services directly alongside Gama Aviation’s established Part-145 maintenance, avionics and interior modification capabilities, enabling clients to benefit from a fully integrated rotary support solution delivered from a single location,” according to the company.
Measuring 16m by 8m, the new paint shop has been engineered to provide a fully filtered, temperature-controlled environment, incorporating specialist lighting and optimised airflow management. The facility will support a wide range of refinishing scopes from full aircraft repaints and livery changes to component and panel refinishing.
Under its CAA Part-145 approval, Gama Aviation will initially support complete paint projects for the Leonardo AW169, AW139 and Airbus H145 aircraft. The facility will also have the flexibility to accommodate a broader range of rotary aircraft types on a subcontracted basis, supporting operators with mixed fleets.
The paint shop will be led by a senior rotary paint specialist with more than 30 years’ experience in aircraft refinishing. After working across a number of OEM platforms, the leadership team brings deep expertise in coatings, materials, surface preparation and quality control, ensuring consistent standards across all projects, said the company.
The new paint service will complement existing capabilities at the site, which include Part-145 airframe maintenance, avionics upgrades, structural work and approved interior modifications. “By consolidating these services in one location, Gama Aviation aims to reduce aircraft downtime, minimise handling and repositioning requirements and provide operators with a more coordinated and efficient maintenance experience,” it said.
