Project Showcase

This Navajo is the second of this paint scheme, making it so the shop to be at its best to ensure both aircraft matched. On Arrival and Disassembly The Prep and Paint Process Job Completion

This 172 had a quick turnaround with the use of vinyl for the paint scheme. Allowing the customer the ability to change it up at a much lower cost than a complete repaint On Arrival and Disassembly The Prep and Paint Process Job Completion

One of the tougher jobs for our graphics department, to match this busy scheme from the new King Air 260 on to a 1978 King Air 200. With the help of the rest of the Upper Valley Team, they did an amazing job. On Arrival and Disassembly The Prep and Paint Process Job Completion

1981 Cessna U206G Paint and Interior This Cessna 206 came to us looking ready for fall, with a very outdated orange paint shceme. Our prep team did and amazing job getting this a/c ready for its new modern paint and interior.     De Havilland DHC-2 Beaver Paint and Interior Restoration This was a beautiful beaver that was purchased by our client out of Ontario, Canada, flown to Kenmore Aircraft for importation into the United States, then brought back up to @uppervalleyaviation for painting and interior. Paint was a base Sky White from @enduraaviation with green accents. The interior was matching greys and and greens with custom embroidery on the new leather seats. A great project we are proud of! #aircraftpaint #aircraftpainting #aircraftinteriors #beaverpaint #beaverinterior

De Havilland DHC-2 Beaver Paint and Interior Restoration This was a beautiful beaver that was purchased by our client out of Ontario, Canada, flown to Kenmore Aircraft for importation into the United States, then brought back up to @uppervalleyaviation for painting and interior. Paint was a base Sky White from @enduraaviation with green accents. The interior was matching greys and and greens with custom embroidery on the new leather seats. A great project we are proud of! #aircraftpaint #aircraftpainting #aircraftinteriors #beaverpaint #beaverinterior

Turbo Grumman Goose Paint This aircraft is quite something as a turbo custom Grumman Goose.  Upper Valley Aviation Ltd. was the last stage in this process, completing the paint on this 9-year project.  The paint on this aircraft came out exceptionally well and we are very proud of this updated and modified Grumman Goose G-21 paint. #aircraftpaint #aircraftpainting

Model: Cessna 180 Paint updated scheme, complete door repairs. This aircraft came to us from Alberta.  Our client wanted us to match his Dad's Cessna 180 Paint job.  The paint work and the door repairs came out really well and we were able to send back a happy client back North.

Year: 1980 Model: Piper Cheyenne III Paint updated scheme. Full paint Prop painted Paint scheme as per client request. This aircraft came out of Alberta for paint and is the third aircraft we have completed for this

Year: 1981 Model: Piper Saratoga Paint and Interior Full paint Prop painted Paint scheme as per client request. Carpets Sidewalls Headliners Baggage area All interior seats redone Steps Cockpit seats Interior work completed by Port Interiors

Year: 1983 Model: Mooney M20K Full strip and paint

Year: 1986 Model: SAAB SF340A Scuff and paint

Year: 1976 Model: Bell 212 Full strip and paint

Year: 1990 Model: Beech 1900C Full strip and paint

Panther top image Year: 1980 Model: Piper PA-31-350 Panther Full strip and paint

NCAir king air top image Year: 1979 Model: Beech King Air 200 Full strip and paint

Year: 1977 Model: Piper PA-28-181 Full strip and paint

Year: 1973 Model: Piper PA31-350 Chieftain Full strip and paint

GTEM king air top image Year: 1999 Model: Beech King Air B300 Full strip and paint

Single Otter New Paint By Upper Valley Aviation

Rebuilt and Painted By Upper Valley Aviation

Pilatus PC12 New Paint By Upper Valley Aviation

Piper PA-24 Comanche Paint and Interior By Upper Valley Aviation

Vans RV9A Custom Paint See the above pictures.  They are of Upper Valley's latest project completion; a beautiful custom paint scheme on a Vans RV9A Custom Paint scheme.  Our project lead was Tony Clarke, who was responsible for prep, topcoats, layout and final application.  We are proud of Tony's accomplishment and the end result. This project was challenging, primarily because the lines went through almost every control and removable part, including the wheel pants.  This means they have to be removed and reinstalled more than once to get the lines and taping right. Plane Schemer provided the scheme for the client, UVA provided final top coats, paint masks and support.

Paint Lead: Steve Coon. Project Mechanical Lead: Russ Winstanley. Paint scheme by Scheme Designers. Colours: Three Jet Glo Matterhorn White Acry Glo Light Burgundy Acry Glo Black Velvet Full Strip and Paint COMMENTS / DETAILED DESCRIPTION This Piper Malibu Paint job is a great completion by our painters here at UVA.  The main challenge was making the great designs from Scheme Designers come to life from 2D to 3D on the aircraft.  In the end our client made great choices in colour and lines and the airplane turned out great. We really appreciate the work of Command Aviation who looks after the AC.  Command came up and made sure the AC got off the ground for their client and worked with us closely throughout the job providing us great support when we had questions from them. This Malibu was a long time coming.  The original estimate was issued in 2014.  Several delays out of our client's control and then scheduling conflicts on our end delayed the arrival by nearly two years!  Once the plane arrived it took us a little bit to get to it, but once we were able the plane was a great specimen.  Aside from the time to get the custom scheme to work there was really no extra work required.  The skins were in great shape and the AC is clearly maintained very well by Command.  Bottom line: once we were finally able to get going this Piper Malibu Paint project turned out to be a lot of fun. Our only regret was that after arrival the client requested interior work.  This would have been great, however our scheduling prevented us from committing without having to put the Piper Malibu Paint work far behind again.  We are hoping to see her again for interior work soon though! A HUGE thanks to Steve Coon and Russ Winstanley for a great completion and a very happy client.  Go team.

Paint Lead: Bob Bowers Project Mechanical Lead: Russ Winstanley. Paint scheme by Scheme Designers. Colours: Three Jet Glo Express Matterhorn White PPG FBC Red Acry Glo Black Acry Glo Dusk Grey Full Strip and Paint COMMENTS / DETAILED DESCRIPTION Cessna 421C Paint plus Structural Repairs: This AC came us us as a referral from Gary at Corporate Air Center out of Skagit Regional Airport.  We had painted twin otters that Gary worked on while he was up North.  Thank you for the referral Gary! This aircraft was purchased by the client who put in the sweet RAM conversion on the plane.  He then scheduled the paint at our shop for paint back in February.  The aircraft arrived, schemes were made.  Upon disassembly the project was going on without a hitch.  We masked and applied stripper like all our other paint jobs.  Once the bulk of the paint had been chemically removed our crew began the hand-stripping and cleaning section of the job. This is where this typical paint job started to go off the rails.  At UVA our paint staff are trained to recognize anything in the metal, composite, fiberglass, carbon etc. that doesn't look right.  They are trained to flag suspicious items for evaluation by our structural engineers.  The painters flagged a couple areas that looked that lots of filler (bondo) had been applied.  Upon inspection and removal some of these areas appeared to have 1/4" think filler. Upon further inspection and removal of the bondo we found three areas that had some serious looking damage that required further investigation via NDT for skin thickness.  In some of the questionable areas 90% of skin thickness had been previously removed and filled over.  Upon discussions with Cessna Engineering and in coordination with Corporate Air Center we determined that engineered repairs were required from Cessna who stated unconditionally that the AC was unsafe in it's current condition. Int the end all repairs were carried out and the client now has a safer and more reliable AC.  Russ Winstanley did an excellent job in executing the repairs for our client. The paint work turned out beautifully thanks to Bob.

Paint Lead: Steve Coon Project Mechanical Lead: Mike Martin Paint scheme by Scheme Designers. Colours: Four in Sherwin Williams Aerospace Paint Snow White Bravo Blue Black Velvet Mojave Gold Full Strip and Paint COMMENTS / DETAILED DESCRIPTION C-FROX came out of Airdrie, Alberta.  This aircraft is a personal aircraft flown by Don Bell, a co-founder of West-Jet airlines. The pictures do not show the tops of the wings where a great deal of the colours and lines occurred.  It was challenging and definitely ran over budget on our end, however the end result was excellent an our client left us a great Google review. The challenging part about completing the low-wing retractable Piper AC is that they are so close to the ground the time to properly remove the old paint and metal prep can get quite time consuming.  These areas are the most susceptible to damage from debris on the ground and tend to be fairly greasy. The other challenge, which seems like it should be small, is that often there are multiple layers of wing walk on the RH wing.  This can get frustrating because the modern strippers don't remove it well and a solid couple hours of scrubbing will get you through one layer, then reapplication of stripper for another couple hours to loosen, repeat.  This was an issue on this AC. Other than that the project was a good one.  We were asked to complete a couple repairs and install the wing root speed kit which really modernized the AC. Prior to arriving Don had upgraded the engine, prop and with the new paint job this plane now looks FAST. This Piper PA-24 Single Comanche Paint job was a great success in the end and thanks to our client for trusting us with this project!

Paint Lead: Bob Bowers Project Mechanical Lead: Chad Van Vliet - PRM Paint scheme by client supplied photos, adapted at UVA. Colours: Three in Sherwin Williams Aerospace Paint Matterhorn White Ruby Metallic Silver Metallic Full Strip and Paint COMMENTS / DETAILED DESCRIPTION C-FJVR came to us out of Edmonton Alberta by referral from Bill Davis of Davis Aircraft Services.  Bill Davis is a very knowledgeable engineer and owns a very reputable company.  This is the second referral from Bill and we really appreciate the business. Aside from a couple typical structural issues, the main challenge with this aircraft was the amount of filler on the AC to begin with.  Sometimes owners indicate to the paint shop that they want a fully "smooth" or "jet-like" finish.  While not always, but often this is a mistake.  What happens is that with the multiple layers of material you can get a lot of cracking and chipping into the substrate which can make a great paint job look older before it should. That was what was happening with this Cessna 441 Conquest Paint job. You had 1/4" of material flaking off in some high-vis areas of the AC which looked very poor.  After strip and clean, the challenge we faced was ensuring that the right amount of filler was used to 1) Smooth out the more wavy areas of the AC in the metal and 2) Make sure that not too much filler was used that would endanger the integrity of the topcoats.  We had to find the balance between looking smooth and putting too much material on the AC. At the end of the day the project was a great success and the AC got a more contemporary scheme and likely lost several pounds of useable weight with the decreased amount of material on the AC. Bob and Chad did an excellent job managing this completion and the client was very happy with the end result.

Paint Lead: Steve Coon Project Mechanical Lead: Mike Martin Paint scheme by client supplied photos, adapted at UVA. Colours: Two Titanium Metallic - Sherwin Williams Sovereign Blue - Dupont Full Strip and Paint COMMENTS / DETAILED DESCRIPTION N490DB came from an Alaskan client called Pybus Point Lodges.  They were referred to us from our long time client: Ward Air Inc out of Juneau, Alaska. Scott, the owner of Pybus, contacted us in June of 2015, and said that he had a C206 that needed some paint work and likely a lot of skin repairs due to corrosion. The plan was to leave the aircraft with us in September and pick it up again in April of the next year.  The AC was with us until the end of April, 2016.  We ended up replacing Two aft belly skins, one middle belly skin, completely overhauling the tail cone and sea fins.  We replaced cables and treated every bit of corrosion on this tired sea plane. In the end the project came out very nicely and the plane is out transporting clients again in Alaska!  We hope to see this C206 back again this year for interior.

Paint Lead: Tony Clark Project Mechanical Lead: Mike Martin Paint scheme: Warpaint Illustrations Colours: Three - Sherwin Williams Colours Pearl White Seminole Red Metallic Silver Metallic Full Strip and Paint COMMENTS / DETAILED DESCRIPTION The owner of this RV came to us with the request that the AC be of a "show quality.  He wanted to take it to Oshkosh in summer of 2016 to put it in the show there.  UVA was excited to take on this challenge.  For this project, in order to get the paint to look perfect, we needed to make sure that all the skins and substrates beneath the paint were flawless. The owner understood this and was willing to have us do the work.  This is where using a company like UVA, a professional refinishing facility really pays.  After all the hard work, sweat, time, money and emotional energy, the very last part, the final finishing can be an area that gets skimmed over.  Now you have a plane to fly so let's slap some paint on and get flying! The error here is that a builder could be disappointed after flying for a time, if the finish doesn't live up to the time, money and effort that has already gone into their airplane. UVA can help with things like: Filling pin holes, dents and fiberglass. Ensuring a smooth finish. Getting rid of troublesome waves or ripples in that canopy. Building up troublesome areas where your wheel pants or cowlings may not fit perfectly flush. Minor metal work. All the things that make that last 5-10% of the project take forever or not up to expectations if you struggle long enough to just give up and put the paint on. On this project there was no expense spared in the completion, details and finish. The client went with a pearl white base, metallic red and metallic silver. The wing tips and rudder were done with a checker fade in the red which very nicely accented the overall effect. We look forward to people seeing the AC at Kosh this year!

Paint Lead: Bob Bowers Project Mechanical Lead: Chad Van Vliet Paint scheme: Scheme Designers Colours: Three - Sherwin Williams Colours Silver metallic base Red Blue Full Strip and Paint Interior with Port Aircraft Interiors Avionics work with Maxcraft Metroliner Custom Paint and Interior with Polish This project was a great example of the full-service option operators can find by using UVA and our Trusted Partners.  The paint and interior was kept to a 20 working day turnaround which was no small feat.  The avionics were done separately by Maxcraft. This AC was the second of two total Metros we completed for Sunwest Aviation out of Calgary, AB.  They were extremely happy with the work and are planning on another Metro with us. The complexity of the scheme was high but we believe it turned out exactly as the client envisioned.  One of the main challenges was painting that much metallic silver on the aircraft and keeping consistency throughout.  Painters will know what we're talking about here. In the end it was a great project.  The list of items taken care of: Full strip and paint of AC. Strip and paint propellers. Extensive polish on wings, nacelles, horizontal stab and elevators. Refinished crew seats. New carpets throughout. Removal and repair of interior sidewalls. New cargo blankets. Refinishing of air stair. Refinishing of cockpit area. Repair and refinish of eyebrow. See link to Maxcraft for details on avionics work.

Paint Lead: Bob Bowers Project Mechanical Lead: Russ Winstanley Paint scheme: Client generated Colours: Three – Sherwin Williams Colours Matterhorn White Blue Full Strip and Paint Extensive metal repairs Beech 1900C full Paint and Heavy Maintenance Work This project started as a simple strip and paint, with the intention of having 5 roll through during the summer months.  As it turns out the client was also in dire need of some important repairs to skins.  It worked out extremely well as Skylink knew they would need the work done and they were thrilled we were able to accomplish this work for them.  They even want UVA to be their preferred maintenance provider in the future! Way to go Russ, the mechanical crew lead and Bob, the paint lead who got the work done in great time.  The entire project took a month to complete. The plane came from Skylink Express. A Canada-wide operator of freight-hauling aircraft.  They are the regional distributor for UPS in Canada!

Project Mechanical Lead: Chad Van Vliet Paint Lead: Bob Bowers Paint scheme: Client generated Colours: Three – Sherwin Williams Colours Matterhorn White Satin Black. Silver Full Strip and Paint Full Interior refurb. Repairs. STOL kit installation. New fairings and wheel pants.

This Project consisted of a rudder re-skinning due to wind damage. The two main skins and a spar had to be replaced then repainted. When all was said and done the client had a safely repaired rudder for his 172 and you couldn’t tell the difference once UVA matched the paint. (We painted the plane before :))

Full strip and paint for this rugged, timeless machine. Full disassembly. Corrosion removal and treatment. Skin repairs. An excellent product at the end of the job. Harbour Air

This was partial work for a client who was looking for a professional shop to fix the cracking top-coat layers around his windows and nose to help sell the aircraft. The aircraft was sold shortly after work at UVA!

This was an extensive project completed at UVA! Among the more notable work completed: Full strip and paint Full interior. Insulation Seats Flooring Headliner Sidewalls Armrests All new plastics 5 hrs on engine Prop OH Wing tops re-skinned. Cherokee Six STOL kit New windows Wheel pants Tip tank repairs This project has produced an extremely high-end cherokee six with nearly 1,100 useful load after full fuel. A great work horse for moving people and baggage up and down the coast.

A Full strip and paint UVA completed years ago. The client returned for more work and we got the chance to take some pics for our site. Go Night Train!

A strip and paint for our long-time clients at Alkan Aircraft. UVA was able to provide support for repairs as part of the purchase of this aircraft. It looked great heading out to work on the Island.

Another full paint completed with our friends from Alkan. This time on a very nice Beech King Air.

This was an extensive project completed at UVA! Among the more notable work completed: Full strip and paint Full interior. Insulation Seats Flooring Headliner Sidewalls Armrests All new plastics STOL Kit VGs installed. New windows Multiple small repairs. "Really happy with the 180 and the work that you did on it. Makes me smile every time I fly it! I've received numerous compliments on the paint and interior. I've let everyone know that you guys did the work. Feel free to use me as a reference if you need someone." - Owner

This was an extensive project completed at UVA! Among the more notable work completed: Full strip and paint Full interior. Insulation Seats Flooring Headliner Sidewalls Armrests All new plastics New lighting New fairings. New seat belts and shoulder harnesses. Multiple small repairs.

This Cardinal out of Alaska has been owned by the same family since it was purchased from the factory. The work completed at UVA was the aircraft’s first major refurb since purchase. A testament to the quality of aircraft built. We hope the owners can now enjoy the plane for the next 40 years! Among the more notable work completed: Full strip and paint Full interior. Insulation – super sound-proof Seats Flooring Headliner Sidewalls Armrests All new plastics New lighting New fairings. New seat belts and shoulder harnesses. New inertial reel STC Rosens All new windows. Powerflow. VG kit Stabilator rebuild. Multiple Small Repairs Our client has his aircraft on display at the Great Alaska Aviation Gathering in 2017 this year and it received great reviews and many great compliments.

This 1966 Cessna 150 out of the San Juan Islands off the West Coast of Washington was purchased for flying to and from the mainland in coastal weather, hence the lighting. Among the more notable work completed: Full strip and paint Full interior. Insulation – super sound-proof Seats Flooring Headliner Sidewalls Armrests All new plastics New LED and HID exterior lighting New fairings. New wheel pants Extensive cowling repairs. Corrosion treatment. New seat belts and shoulder harnesses. New inertial reel STC All new windows VG kit Custom paint design Multiple Small Repairs After the work completed at UVA our client went to Maxcraft for an avionics package that truly made the aircraft into one-of-a-kind for its vintage, type and year.  Click here to see the stunning avionics package that was installed!

This Cessna 180 from Ward Air in Alaska came down for belly skin replacement and some other structural repairs needed. It operates as a float machine out of Juneau. Work completed: Cessna 180 Skin Repairs and Paint VG Kit Installation. Strobe light replacement. Lifting ring grommet replacement. New tailcone. Many small repairs due to corrosion. Bearing replacements. New strut cuffs. Wing-ex upgrade completing. New wing tips. New brake lines. All new seat tracks. Bulkhead repairs. Replaced floor sections. Replaced various floor and belly doublers. Replaced belly skins. Wing rib repairs due to cracks. Registration change.

Another paint for Pacific Coastal Airlines of BC. PasCo has changed their fleet scheme and have chose UVA as their aircraft paint shop. We have worked with the people at Pasco for over a decade and we are grateful for their long time business and support.

This Piper PA-28R-200 Arrow Full Restoration Paint and Interior was a project that UVA excels at. The scope of work was quite large on this Arrow. It required a complete update. At the end of the job it left here looking like brand new. Full Strip and paint Full Interior Insulation Seats Flooring Headliner Sidewalls Armrests All new plastics Wing tip repairs. All new exterior LED lighting. New Fairings. New wing tips. O2 refill Bearing replacement. Stabilator repairs. New access panel hardware. New flight control hardware. Wing root seals. Door seals. New windows and windshields. New Rosen Sun Visors. Hail damage repair. Many other updates!

This long-time client of ours sold his Cessna 172 and purchased this C182 which was owned by Maxcraft who completed the avionics.  Our client purchased this AC from Maxcraft then brought it to us for exterior refinishing and upgrades.  After all this completed this C182 is one of the nicest flying in the world.  Work completed at UVA: Cessna 182 Paint Exterior Refurb: Full strip and paint. Annual Inspection. Sportsman STOL kit installed. All new exterior fairings in fiberglass. New wing tips. New LED taxi and landing lights. New LED strobe lights. VG kit installation. Pulselight system installed. New battery. Wing structural repairs. Flap repairs. Some new interior plastics. Brake pads, races, bearlings. New brake lines. New cylinder baffles. New carb air box. New cabin heat muffler. Precise Airflow vents installed.

This beautiful little 1956 Cessna 172 Early Model Paint Interior and Repairs job came to us from one of our long time Alaskan clients who has outfitted it into a high performance, rugged bush machine.  The plane has the large tundra tires, a 180hp engine, STOL kit and VGs.  Along with an extremely smart paint job and some interior improvements this is another successful, unique aircraft completed at UVA.

This Cessna 208 Caravan on Amphibs Paint project was a good project from our friends at Island Express Air in Alaska.  A great company.  This caravan came to us for paint and needed a lot of love as many of these ocean-operated amphibious aircraft do.  At UVA we are able to handle all structural and mechanical needs necessary to get the project out the door and generating revenue for our clients.

This was a job for a client who had had the tailboom previously painted, however the workmanship was poor enough that the paint had to be fully re-stripped and reapplied with proper body-work and sealing completed.  UVA was able to correct the mistakes and send the client back the high-quality product they were looking for.

This unique beaver came to us from another Alaskan client.  The unique scheme was on the aircraft when our client purchased it and because it was so unique he decided to keep it.  Please take a look at some historical photos of N93E here.  This aircraft was in pretty nice shape after going through rebuild with Keenan Zerkel at Alaska Aircraft Sales so very few items outside of strip and paint were required.  We were happy to see this bird in the air and flying for the next 50 years!

This is our fourth aircraft from Sunwest, and another beautiful scheme chosen by this client. We were all very pleased with the end result and Sunwest was as well. This Beech 1900D paint was fairly routine with some minor structural repairs and typical hardware replacement.

This Cessna 185 was from a client out of Washing State who had just purchased it out of Anchorage. Our client brought the plane to us for paint and new windows. The plane needed some minor repairs, but otherwise was a fairly straight forward exterior. It turned out beautifully and the client was extremely happy with the end result. Our work included: Cessna 185 Paint with Window Replacement Full strip and paint. All new windows. Glareshield replacement. Removal of ADF antennal. Re-mount brake lines for aesthetics. VG kit installation. New abrasion boots. Removal of ski fittings (Alaskan previously). Registration change. New wing tips. Some new control rods. Trim system re-rig. Trim jack actuator service. 4-point inertia reels. New door seals.

This Beech King Air 200 has been completely refinished at UVA Including: Phase 1-4 Complete January 2018. New Paint Complete September 2017. White base. Gold and blue metallic striping. King Air and Beech logos painted. Painted placards. New Interior Complete December 2017. New leather interior on all Pax seats with painted frames, new foam and new diaphragms. New sheepskin, foam, painted frames on crew seats. Seat belts re-webbed. New sound deadening on flooring replaced. Headliner, sidewalls reupholstered. New carpets throughout. Runner made. Window surrounds re-painted. All cabinetry re-surfaced. All cabinetry attach points repaired as required. BLR Winglets Installed September 2017. New brake hoses December 2017. New Battery December 2017. Pitot Static completed December 2017. ELT recertified 2018 Re-weigh completed December 2017. A special thanks to the UVA paint, interior, cabinetry, structures and maintenance crew for making this project a reality!