Ceramic Coating at Oberpfaffenhofen (Sonderflughafen) (EDMO)

Why does ceramic coating make sense at a recurring-use field like Oberpfaffenhofen?

Oberpfaffenhofen is not a through-route airport. Every movement requires prior permission, and the field serves a tight circle of aerospace companies, flight-test operators, and corporate flight departments with regular business in the Munich technology corridor. If your aircraft stops here more than twice a year – whether for meetings, MRO input, or crew changes – the investment in ceramic protection pays back quickly.

Ceramic cuts the time and water required for every subsequent wash, which matters when you are working around a tight slot or a same-day turnaround. The coating resists de-icing fluid, hydraulic mist, and the fine particulate that settles during long apron sits. Between visits the paint stays cleaner, and when you do wash, contamination lifts without heavy agitation. For fleets running a hub-and-spoke pattern through southern Germany, ceramic turns Oberpfaffenhofen into a low-maintenance base rather than a high-effort outlier.

What does the three-to-six-day process include?

We begin with a full decontamination: clay bar, iron remover, and solvent wipe to pull embedded contamination out of the paint. Any oxidation, swirl marks, or light scratches are corrected with a single-stage polish. Brightwork – nacelle lips, leading edges, winglets – is polished to remove staining and restore reflectivity. Only when the surface is truly clean and level do we apply the ceramic.

The coating goes on in two layers: the first bonds to the paint, the second bonds to the first and provides the hydrophobic top surface. We coat all painted surfaces, all brightwork, and all exterior windows. The aircraft then stays in the hangar under controlled temperature while the layers cure. Before release we document the work with a detailed photo report, hand over a maintenance plan that specifies wash intervals and approved products, and issue the warranty document. The entire process takes between three and six days, depending on aircraft size and the condition of the paint when we start.

What changes at Oberpfaffenhofen (Sonderflughafen) that affects the work?

Oberpfaffenhofen sits at 1,947 feet elevation with a single runway, 04/22, measuring 2,286 metres. The field is a Sonderflughafen – a special-use airport restricted to aerospace industry traffic and qualified business aviation between 2 and 25 tonnes maximum take-off mass, with type-specific exemptions for certain Global, Falcon, and Gulfstream series. Handling is provided by TRIWO Airport Services, the airport operator. There is no scheduled, charter, or cargo traffic, and every business flight requires prior permission.

The restricted traffic mix means apron congestion is rare, but hangar availability can tighten when the on-field MRO stations – General Atomics AeroTec Systems and Aero-Dienst – have aircraft in for maintenance. We coordinate hangar slots well in advance, particularly during the spring and autumn windows when flight-test campaigns and maintenance inputs overlap. The elevation and the inland Bavarian climate bring cold-soaked wings in winter and sharp temperature swings in spring, both of which affect curing schedules. We monitor hangar temperature throughout the process and will not release an aircraft until the ceramic has fully bonded.

How does Bavarian weather affect the durability of ceramic coating?

The Munich basin sees cold winters, warm summers, and a fair amount of precipitation year-round. De-icing fluid goes on the aircraft from November through March, and spring often brings dust carried north from the Alps mixed with pollen from the surrounding forests. Ceramic coating resists all of it: Type I fluid sheets off without staining, road salt from the apron does not etch the paint, and pollen washes away in the first rain rather than baking into the clearcoat.

UV exposure in summer is moderate but sustained, and unprotected paint will fade over two to three seasons. Ceramic blocks most UV before it reaches the pigment layer, which keeps the cheat line crisp and the belly from yellowing. The hydrophobic surface also means that rain, snow melt, and wash water do not sit on the aircraft – they bead and roll off the trailing edges, taking loose contamination with them. For an aircraft based or frequently transiting through southern Germany, ceramic effectively doubles the time between serious paint correction cycles.

Can ceramic coating be applied around a maintenance visit or between flight legs?

Yes, and Oberpfaffenhofen is well-suited to combined scheduling. Many aircraft arrive for avionics upgrades, gear overhauls, or airframe inspections at the on-field MRO stations, and those visits often stretch across one or two weeks. If the maintenance work releases the aircraft to us with at least four clear days remaining, we can complete the ceramic process before the next departure slot.

For aircraft transiting without a maintenance stop, we need a firm block of three to six days. That works well for flight departments running a European tour: drop the aircraft at Oberpfaffenhofen, continue ground travel to meetings in Munich or Stuttgart, and collect a protected airframe at the end of the week. We provide a full photo report and maintenance plan at handover, so your chief pilot has documentation for the tech log and a clear schedule for preserving the coating over the next two years.

How often should ceramic coating be renewed, and what does the maintenance plan cover?

We recommend re-application every two to three years, ideally timed after a repaint or a complete detail. The coating does not fail suddenly – it thins gradually as you wash and as the aircraft accumulates flight hours – but by the third year the hydrophobic effect will have diminished and contamination will begin to bond more firmly to the paint.

The maintenance plan we issue specifies wash intervals, approved cleaning products, and the correct technique for preserving the ceramic layer. Most operators wash every four to six weeks during the coating's first year, then stretch that to eight or ten weeks in the second year as they gain confidence in how clean the aircraft stays. The plan also flags products to avoid: acidic wheel cleaners, solvent-heavy degreasers, and any compound containing abrasives will damage the coating. If you follow the plan, the ceramic will protect the paint for its full rated life, and when renewal is due, the surface underneath will still be in excellent condition.