Air New Zealand has specified PPG Aerospace’s green coatings to create an all black livery on four airplanes.
Painted black for Air New Zealand and subsidiary Eagle Airways to honor New Zealand’s world champion All Blacks rugby team.
PPG Aerospace is the aerospace products and services business division of PPG Industries. To commemorate the sponsorship of the All Blacks rugby team, Air New Zealand had ordered the black livery that includes a fuselage coated entirely in black, with a silver fern overlay across the back of the airplane.
Air New Zealand has recently purchased a new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. Eagle Airways, the airline’s subsidiary, has two Beechcraft 1900D aircraft that have been repainted with eco-friendly coatings system from PPG Aerospace. These coatings include DESOTHANE(R) HS topcoats, DESOPRIME(R) CF/CA 7502 epoxy primer and DesoGel EAP-9 metal pretreatment. Eagle Airways’ third aircraft, Beechcraft 1900D turboprop, will also be coated in black color.
PPG Sales Manager, Richard Wilkinson stated that Air New Zealand and Eagle Airways are dedicated towards protecting the country’s natural environment, and eco-friendly coatings from PPG Aerospace allowed them to meet their objectives without affecting the performance. Wilkinson added that Desoprime CF/CA 7502 primer and DesoGel EAP-9 metal pretreatment prevent corrosion through a unique formulation that does not use any chromates. Moreover, in contrast to regular paints, less volatile organic compounds have been used in Desothane HS topcoats to bring down greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, the topcoats can be dried quickly with thinners, and this aspect reduces energy usage since other paints depend on heat to accelerate the drying process. Particularly when applying markings, this feature is quite important.
Eagle Airways and Air New Zealand have opted for PPG Aerospace’s Desoclean Green dry wash and polish to maintain the shiny look of their black airplanes. For additional protection, Eagle Airways has selected a clearcoat.
Phil Byrne, Aviation Painting Services’ General Manager, stated that painting the Beechcraft 1900D presented quite a challenge since an intricate livery had to be completed within a short period of time. PPG products helped in overcoming this challenge; they can be easily applied and give a glossy appearance to the aircraft.
Source: http://www.ppg.com/