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Continued from page 24 SKYTHEATER TAKES MOVIES TO THE MAX completions & ref u rbs speaking with a potential 787 customer who is a repeat client," said Jonas, "and the talks are pretty far along." Grecnpoint Technologies is cur- rently modifying two 747-8s delivered from Boeing and installing the center's StandardAero in Springfield. Ill. does major refurbishment on large- to small-cabin jets. "Anything that can be done with an interior. we do in Springf ield." says StandardAero's Scott Taylor. Acroloft rest area in each before further delivery of the airplanes to other comple- tion centers for outfitting. The Acroloft is located in the area above the main deck and aft of the upper-deck, forward lounge in the executive 747. It was designed, engi- neered and is built by Greenpoint. The center is licensed by Boeing to do the necessary modifications and installa- tion. It will receive EASA certification this year and adds 393 additional sq ft to the 4,786 ft in the main deck and upper lounge. Sloan Benson, executive v-p at Greenpoint, said interest is growing in the Aerolift elevator it designed for the 747-8. "We're expecting to book one later this year." Greenpoint has contracts to modify three more 747-8s for the Acroloft. Two of them, like the first two, will go on to other centers for installation of the Aer- oloft kit and for the full interior com- pletion. A fifth green 747-8 will arrive next year and remain at Greenpoint for full outfitting. It will be the Kirkland, Wash. center's first green completion of a twin-aisle airplane, an appropriate way to mark Greenpoint's 25th anniver- sary in the business. Gore Design Completion delivered two twin-aisle airplanes in 2011: a 767 to a central Asian head of state and a 777. Kathy Gore Walters, co-founder and president, said the company expects to deliver its first BBJ3 in June for a Middle East client, and in the same month to turn over an ACJ320 for a central Asian client. Later this year, Gore design expects also to deliver two ACJ340s Pats Aircraft Systems continues to install its FAA-certified auxiliary fuel sys- tems in BBJs. "We've done more than 140 aux fuel systems installations on behalf of Boeing," said senior v-p of sales and marketing John Eichten. CISMITED Earlier this year, a flying theater rolled up to the Signature FBO on Teterboro Airport's south side in the form of a Global Express XRS equipped with an entertainment system called SkyTheater. With it came SkyTheater founder Gregg Launer, 52, a friendly bear of a man who tries for modesty but whose enthu- siasm spills close to hubris when he describes the custom-built entertainment package as being to the average movie experience what Sofia Vergara is to simply being female. Launer is something of a likeable version of Steven Jobs. His knowledge in the world of sound is such that he frequently stops and searches his vocabulary for language that the average lis- tener will understand. And frequently failing, he will offer an apology and start over. In his own circle, he is often described by clients as a genius. To lesser human beings, his thoughts seem to run like a pinball through the random light and sound of an arcade game, with a pur- pose difficult to recognize. ". a true audiophile, and what • building is a sensory experience that will so completely absorb my clients that it becomes reality and they lose themselves in the world that the director or cameraman or composer SkyTheater founder Gregg Launer put nearly 1.000 movies into a Global Express Avod. created," he explains. "I build every system as if it were going into my own airplane. I want to impress even myself, and • my own worst critic." His earliest memories are of music and the- ater and lying awake in bed and listening to leg- endary DJ Cousin Brucie lay down a cascade of rock and roll on New York's powerhouse WABC. Even decades later, one of his favorite toys at home is a Rock-Ola Jukebox. "When you listen to Dean Martin, or Elvis, or Chuck Berry on a jukebox, you're hearing rock and roll the way it was made to be heard," he avows. And he recalls a summer when his parents took him on vacation to the Deauville Beach Resort in Miami Beach, where The Supremes were performing. "They were in the room across the hall from us, and Mary Wilson and Flo Ballard shared a cabana next to ours. I was too young to attend the show, but the resort manager had mercy on me, took me by the hand and put me in the front row? By the age of 18, Launer held a first-class radiotelephone license from the FCC and by 19 was an audio engineer producing music tracks at NBC in Miami. And along the way, he also indulged what he describes as his alternative passion of flying, picking up his private license and going on to become a flight instructor. At the age of 32, he and wife, Blanche, formed a company that two years later became ffi SkyTheater. And as if life had determined to create a movie script for him, Launer's first cus- tomer and later friend was Alexander Zuyev, the pilot who defected in spectacular man- ner from the former Soviet Union in 1989, at the same time delivering a MiG-29 into west- ern hands. "He loved America and would have the most incredible Fourth of July parties. But instead of beer and burgers, he would serve vodka and caviar. It was his belief in me that helped launch SkyTheater." Getting Off the Ground Launer's first theater in the sky was for busi- nessman and entrepreneur Wayne Huizenga of Blockbuster and the airplane was a BAC 1-11. Then came a Boeing 727-200 and Launer was off and running. It was a time when digital technology was in its infancy and the reliability was still in question. So Launer devised a way for all the soundtracks to play through a single sys- tem (either 7.1 or 5.1 surround sound), with 19-inch touchscreen, video monitor/control- lers throughout the cabin and two 43-inch plasma monitors. "Ten years later," claims Launer, "that airplane was still state of the art." In the late 1990s some of those working for producer/director George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch happened to listen to the SkyTheater system Launer had installed in the 727. He was immediately recruited and spent the next two years-off and on-there, working and learning. Launer remembers being "incredibly fortu- nate" to be part of a group that was "setting the standards that still exemplify visual film and movie soundtracks today." In the meantime, Launer had formed a Sky- Theater partnership in Fort Lauderdale with friend and fellow traveler Andrew Guenther, who owns Advanced Audio Design, a home- theater firm in Sarasota, Fla. "He handles a lot of the equipment and designs the electronics that make everything work. Andrew does a guy's home theater, and if the guy owns an airplane, SkyTheater does the cabin entertainment," says Launer. Guenther's talent and influence is such, claims Launer, "that high-end audiovisual elec- tronics manufacturers will often come to him for his input before introducing some new technology at a major trade show." Among Guenther's home theater custom- ers are movie actor John Travolta, basketball coach Pat Riley, singer Gloria Estefan "and more who prefer not to be named," he says. Though focused on two different theater markets, Guenther and Launer are involved together in a music project designed to "recruit and produce live venues for musicians Continues on page 28 ,rake6 Goodrich Near Completion Last year, United Technologies agreed to the acquisition of Goodrich in a deal that called for UT to shell out $16.5 billion cash and assume $1.9 billion in assumed debt. The acquisition by UT was to be finalized by the end of last month. The acquisition would bring to UT Goodrich's rapidly growing interi- ors business, much of it acquired by Goodrich in 2010 from DeCrane Aero- space. Goodrich describes the seating. cabin management and entertainment systems and cabinetry as part of its "total cabin capability" for everything in business jet cabin components. Leather and Lace Comes from Edelman Edelman Leather has introduced a new Leather & Lace line, inspired by the work of artists from the studios of Belgium. Hungary and Slovakia and transferred through the use of laser etching and cutting technology. Inspired by the die-cut felt work of Jas- per Morrison. the Dutch designers have introduced to the M000i. Smog and Vitra Edelman's new Leather & Lace line is a new play on age-old craftsmanship from Belgium. Hungary and Slovakia. lines hauntingly elegant chandeliers by Diller Scofidio & Renfro for Swarovski, and the collections of Prada, McQueen. Louis and Lanvin. Edelman's artists describe the results of this new line on its Cavallini hair-on hides as "chic and fun." Other leath- ers appropriate for the Leather & Lace designs include Napoli and Royal Suede. Metrica Aviation Makes Move at Nuremberg Airport Maintenance, repair and overhaul specialist Aero-Dienst. in the process of increasing its usable space at Germany's Nuremberg Airport with another hangar. has added 27,000 sq ft and considerable refurbishment expertise through a partnership with Metrica Aviation Interior. "We are now able to offer an operator interior repair and refur- bishment simultaneous with other maintenance, all under one roof." said Aero-Dienst managing director Mar- tin Bauer. The two companies began working together in January this year and Metrica has already completed several refurbishments. Metrica is an established business, a subsidiary of Qatar's Ghanim bin Saad al Saad and Sons Group Holdings. 26 Aviation International News • July 2012 • EFTA01132461 ompletiQns & refurbs Eichten said Pats did a nine-year maintenance check on a BBJ last year and included a major refurbishment at the same time. The center has also sent out "quite a number of bids" on BBJs due for the 12-year maintenance check, and all include "substantial refurbishment work." King Aerospace is looking toward the bizliner business for a boost. "We're in discussions now with international customers for executive conversions and even a green airplane comple- tion," said Jerry King. "And they're all widebodies." According to David Edinger, CEO at Comlux America in Indianapolis, many of the early Airbus A3I9s and Boeing Business Jets have had minimal cabin A technician in the Goodrich interior paint shop in Wichita applies finish to a piece of cabin cabinetry. upgrades since they entered service some 12 years ago, and the cabin electronics arc practically antique. Edinger said Comlux America, part of The Comlux Group in Switzerland, is "really starting to roll." He told AIN the first green airplane has been delivered-an ACJ3I9-and it came in 1,000 pounds below the comple- tion allowance weight. It also tested with an average cabin noise level of 48 dB(SIL), "about what you might expect in a sub- urban living room, and it was under the projected noise level by 3 dB(SIL)." Currently undergoing refurbishment is a Boeing 757 and a pair of Airbus ACJs. In the second quarter this year, a BBJ to be outfitted for Hyundai was scheduled to roll into the Comlux han- gar. Comlux America is approved by both Airbus and Boeing for interior outfitting. "We want to focus on BBJs and ACJs and do this segment well and on time," said The Comlux Group pres- ident Richard Gaona. Lufthansa Technik in Hamburg, Ger- many, is working on a Boeing 767 execu- tive interior and is looking for two 747-8s to roll in by year-end. Walter Heerdt, Lufthansa's senior v-p of marketing and sales, expects the Continues on page 30 SkyTheater I Continued from in unique multi-channel surround-sound, as well as to promote them to the film and televi- sion industries for soundtrack recordings." In 2007, "an executive closely associated with the Internet industry came to Launer with his new Global Express XRS, and made it dear that what he wanted was far beyond any- thing off-the-shelf." In 2008 the airplane was delivered with a complete and custom-built SkyTheater that includes: • 1080p high-bandwidth wiring throughout • monitors and speakers • audiovisual on-demand (Avod) with a library of more than 1,000 movies. • a SkyTheater app to allow passengers to use personal iPhones and iPads to control all aspects of the entertainment system. • a customized touch-screen control package. "The owner can also customize the sound balance in the cabin by simply going through the field until he finds a 'flavor he likes," explains Launer. "In this particular airplane," says Launer, "SkyTheater is pre-tuned for the owner's personal tastes to reproduce audio identical to what he would hear in the Holly- wood Bowl or Lincoln Center or some other popular venue." Totally Absorbed in the Moment Putting SkyTheater through its paces on the Global, Launer selects surround sound and asks visitors to walk through the entire cabin, to sit anywhere they like, even lie on the floor and note any change in the audio. His grin broadens as not one individual professes to detect a difference. Launer goes on to select Star Wars Episode In: Return of the Jedi, picking the scene of the chase on Ewok speeder bikes through the for- est of Endor. "Now listen closely," he advises. As the action roars across the screen, it is per- fectly paced by the sound in that reality, "and if I hadn't told you to listen, you would have been totally absorbed by the experience with- out realizing why. "What I aim for is not only a perfect audio system, but one that is perfectly synchronized with the film," he says. But is it high-definition? Launer expresses mock surprise at the question. Then he admits that not everything in the Global's film bank is HD; however, he also points out that with the technology to tune the system properly, even a pre-digital recording will be rendered in sufficient high definition as to be almost unrecognizable as anything else. And he also A private lavatory in a narrow-body baliner features liberal use of dark veneer and a marble countertop. explains that simply having a Blu-ray player or Avod and an HD monitor does not ensure an HD experience. "You have to have the band- width to carry the signal that will allow 1080p between the origin and the final destination." While the system in the Global Express XRS is now almost four years old, and SkyTheater has since done several more air- planes, including Donald Trump's recently completed Boeing 757, the entertainment package in the XRS remains, he claims, "years ahead of anything else." Warren Justice, chief pilot on the Global, chuckles when he remembers his first meeting with Launer, "a big guy dressed like a biker and wearing a black beret. But he knew what he was talking about and no one in this company has regretted listening," Justice continues. "I've never heard anything like what he put into this airplane. Even after it was installed, he insisted on going with us on a flight test to tune the sound for cruise at 41,000 feet. He personally programmed the individual con- trols. It was so well thought out that the owner went right into it on the first day and didn't need a single lesson." Since installation, the airplane has been all over the world and not a single component of the entertainment system has needed to be changed, said Justice. However, he adds, on several occasions, when the airplane was pass- ing through Florida with a stop-over, Launer has insisted on coming out to see if the system was still properly tuned. The system is not inexpensive, allows Jus- tice. Just a little north of a million dollars. But he adds, "If this is what you want, you'll defi- nitely get what you pay for. I don't know how we could have done any better." Theo Kalomirakis, president of Theo Kal- omirakis Theaters of Brooklyn,., is one of the foremost designers of home theaters in the world and has consistently turned down requests to do an in-flight theater. "I have been skeptical of the ability of anyone to con- trol sound in such an environment," he told AIN. "What Gregg designed and built on that Global Express is the first serious system I've heard. Gregg has tamed the beast" But it isn't just a matter of being good at what you do, says Launer. "It's a matter of passion, and of loving what you do. Think of SkyTheater as a personal transporter la la Star Trek]. You step into it in New York City and you step out of it in Los Angeles, and everything in between was just a moment in time." —K.J.H. ,a;ekerakes lacobucel Shines at EBACE lacobucci HF appeared at EBACE with a new espresso maker for the business jet galley and a galley cart that doesn't look out of place on a large private jet. The 28V espresso machine does not work with the usual boiler but with patented heat exchangers to ensure instant and continuous operation with- out waiting for the water to reheat after each use. In addition. the heat exchanger makes for a much lighter machine. and its "open system" allows the use of all easy-serve espresso pods. The serving cart. created by DesignworksUSA. features attachable "skins" or even transparent windows to allow passengers to see available items. For use in a private jet. the top surface can be modified for a more formal appearance. "We brought the style. fit and finish that customers expect to find in pre- mium environments at home to enhance their on-board experience." said Lau- renz Schaffer. president of BMW Group DesignworksUSA. An espresso maker and an executive galley cart are two new items from Italy's lacobucci AlrGilde Coatings Cut Fuel Burn Aviation marketing consultancy Action Aviation has signed an exclusive distri- bution agreement with AirGlide. a UK company that claims that its new Avia- tion Shield nano-technology coating can result in fuel-burn savings of about 4 percent through a drag reduction of up to 40 percent. According to Action Aviation's web- site. an ACJ318 on a two-hour flight might burn 9.500 pounds of fuel. With the AirGlide coating. the same aircraft would burn 200 pounds less fuel over that same route. Other advantages include reducing the carbon footprint. reducing cleaning and maintenance costs and greater protec- tion against corrosion and erosion. It also means. the company claims, that the exterior paint will last longer. AkzoNobel Wins Airbus Approval AkzoNobel Aerospace Coatings of the Netherlands has received approval of its Aerobase base coat and Aviox UVR clear- coat system from Airbus as an option. The system allows selective removal of only the base coat/clear coat in preparation for repainting, leaving the original primer intact and thereby saving the aircraft owner time and money. according to the Amsterdam- based company. Further. AkzoNobel said the system "was developed in line with one of Air- bus's key objectives to produce aircraft that are friendlier to the environment and more eco-efficient." The base coat/ clear coat system is ready for use in series production. tinues on page 30 28 Aviation International News • July 2012 • EFTA01132462