Measurements over several months before and after application on a Gulfstream G-IV SP coated in Dubai with Airglide's Aviation ShieldTM product shown to save 2% fuel burn.

MEBA, Dubai, 11 December 2012: Action Aviation, the aviation marketing and services company which is the distributor for Aviation Shield™, Airglide's new Nano-technology aircraft coating product, today announced that a Cayman registered Gulfstream G-IV SP achieved actual fuel savings of 2% after being coated recently in Dubai with Aviation Shield™.

The Aviation Shield™ coating was applied by a technical team supplied by Action Aviation in 12 hours at the same time as the Gulfstream was undergoing routine maintenance at Jet Aviation in Dubai.  The coating process included aircraft preparation, application of a base primer, applying the Nano-technology coating itself and a final finishing process.

Aviation ShieldTM was originally developed for the airline industry and is approved by both Boeing and Airbus for application to all their aircraft, and is also AMS1650c approved.   The Nano-technology works by significantly reducing the surface friction drag of any aircraft at typical Mach numbers, and typically produces a fuel saving of 2-3% on the larger airliners.

The cost of applying the Nano-technology coating to a business jet or airliner is generally paid for in fuel savings in the first 2-4 months of operation, depending on the usage of the aircraft.  The Nano-technology coating lasts 4 years, with a leading edge re-application at 2 years.  Hence the "Return on Investment" of applying such a coating can be very attractive to aircraft operators and airlines.

In addition, this Gulfstream came out of the hangar looking more like a brand new aircraft again and the owner was surprised at the significant improvement in appearance.

Airglide's Nano-technology coating, Aviation Shield™, has other side benefits:

  • Protection against the effects of corrosion and UV damage

  • Reduced ground de-icing requirements

  • Reduced cleaning times and annual cleaning costs

  • Extended paint life

  • "Dry wash" application, minimising aircraft downtime for application

The Aviation Shield™ product is based on Nano-technology and contains ultra-small, durable acrylic particles which fill the 'pores' of the treated surface with a very thin resin, creating an incredibly smooth finish at the molecular level.  This finish leads to the significant reduction in surface friction drag. The 'micro-barrier' created also reduces penetration and deposition by ice, dirt, and other surface contaminants.

Action Aviation Chairman, Hamish Harding, commented: "Recent developments in Nano-technology coatings have the potential to save the airline industry and business aircraft operators billions of dollars in fuel annually, not to mention reducing the carbon footprint of aircraft".  He went on to add, "In today's world of high fuel costs, a 2% direct fuel saving is a significant bonus that most aircraft operators cannot afford to ignore.  And in the competitive airline world, it could even be the difference between profit and loss".

About Action Aviation  
Action Aviation operates globally and specializes in aviation marketing and services.  Action Aviation is a distributor for jet manufacturers such as Nextant and is part of the Action Group of companies (www.actiongroup.com), with offices in UK, Middle East and India.

About AIRglide
AIRglide™ is a British specialist Nano-technology company, supplying Nano-technology coating solutions to a number of industries, particularly aviation.  It has a large team of qualified aviation technicians offering this specialist service to airlines and business aviation companies.  AIRglide™ has successfully applied Nano-technology coatings to airlines, business jets and general aviation aircraft as a turn-key application service.

For further information, contact:
Mark Butler    
Tel: 
+44 20 7266 2845 or +44 7715 990936
Email:  fuelsave@actionaviation.com  
Website: www.actionaviation.com

© Press Release 2012