Complete Detail at Stuttgart (EDDS)

What changes at Stuttgart?

Stuttgart sits at 1,276 feet elevation with a single runway, 07/25, measuring 3,345 metres. The airport is fully coordinated—Level 3 in the Flughafenkoordination Deutschland system—so every movement needs a slot and your turnaround window is fixed by that slot. Night-flight restrictions run from 23:00 to 06:00: no take-offs after 23:00, no civil jet landings between 23:30 and 06:00 (delayed landings to midnight only if originally scheduled before 23:30). The General Aviation Terminal, 13 kilometres south of Stuttgart city centre at Flughafenstrasse 116, is staffed from 05:30 to 23:00 daily (until 22:30 at weekends), so late-evening arrivals need advance notice.

Kurz Aviation Service runs GA handling at the terminal and operates two hangars—Hangar 1 heated at 6,000 square metres, Hangar 2 unheated at 3,000 square metres—with space for up to 42 aircraft subject to availability. Customs and immigration are on site around the clock. Messe Stuttgart, the state trade-fair centre, sits directly beside the airport, and trade-fair weeks compress parking and slot availability. For a multi-day detail, the slot coordinator and the handler book both the arrival slot and the parking stand or hangar bay together; we time the work to finish before your departure slot, with a buffer for weather or paint-cure delays.

How does the handler see a third-party detailing crew at the GAT?

Handling agents present at the airport expect written notice at least 48 hours before a contractor arrives airside, along with passport copies, vehicle registration and insurance. Every person and every piece of equipment—pressure washer, generator, vacuum, trolley—goes through the handler's gate; nothing crosses the apron without an airside pass or a permanent escort. Once the aircraft is on stand or in the hangar, the handler opens the tech log, notes the contractor's arrival time and logs the work as 'third-party appearance service' or similar wording. If you plan to open panels, remove fairings or pull seats, the handler wants to know in advance so the entry matches the aircraft condition at departure.

For a complete detail the aircraft usually moves into the hangar within an hour of block-in, assuming a bay is available. The handler provides GPU, water and waste disposal; we bring our own trolleys, lighting and consumables. If the cabin requires a full strip—galley panels out, seats pulled forward, carpets lifted—the handler may ask for a method statement or a supervisor contact. When the work is finished, we photograph the result, countersign the tech log entry and leave the hangar swept. The handler inspects the aircraft exterior, closes the log and tows the jet back to the apron for your departure slot.

What does a complete detail include at Stuttgart?

The service combines everything in an exterior dry wash and a full interior detail, then adds paint decontamination, a single-stage machine polish, brightwork polishing and cabin disinfection. We start with a cold rinse to lift dust and organic contamination, apply a pH-neutral decon solution to the paint and brightwork, then clay the leading edges, nacelles and the belly to remove bonded contaminants—industrial fallout, exhaust residue, insect strikes. Once the paint is clean, we machine-polish in a single stage to restore gloss and lay down a hydrophobic sealant. Brightwork—windscreen surrounds, door handles, cheat-line trim—is polished by hand.

Inside, we vacuum and steam-clean all soft surfaces, treat leather with a pH-balanced conditioner, wipe every hard surface with a no-touch avionics protocol in the flight deck, pull and clean seat tracks, lift carpets to vacuum the subfloor, empty and wipe galley lockers, scrub the lavatory and polish mirrors and fixtures. After the mechanical clean, we fog the cabin and flight deck with a broad-spectrum disinfectant, leave the aircraft sealed for the dwell time, then ventilate. The photographic report—before, during and after—goes to the chief pilot or the broker by email, usually within 24 hours of completion.

How long does a complete detail take, and can it fit between slots?

Duration depends on aircraft size, paint condition and cabin configuration. A super-midsize jet in reasonable condition—paint lightly contaminated, cabin recently cleaned—takes two full days in the hangar. An ultra-long-range aircraft with heavy fallout, neglected brightwork and a 16-seat cabin with galley and lavatory can run to five days. We agree the schedule when you book, then confirm hangar availability and the departure slot with the handler. Because Stuttgart is coordinated and the GAT closes at 23:00, we cannot work through the night to recover lost time; if weather delays the exterior work, the departure slot may need to be pushed.

Most operators schedule a complete detail during a planned AOG, a seasonal layover or the week before a pre-buy inspection, when the aircraft is already grounded. If you arrive on a morning slot, we can often start the exterior wash the same afternoon, run the decon and polish over the next two days, complete the cabin on day four and have the aircraft back on the apron by midday on day five. The handler wants a firm departure slot at booking so the hangar bay and the GPU schedule align; last-minute changes are possible but not guaranteed during trade-fair weeks, when ramp and hangar pressure is highest.

Why choose a complete detail over separate wash and cabin visits?

A complete detail is the reference standard before a sale, a delivery or a season because it addresses both the exterior and the interior in one visit, with the aircraft cold-soaked and accessible in the hangar. Paint decontamination and polish cannot be done on the ramp in summer—direct sun cures the compound too quickly—and a full cabin strip is impractical on a live stand with passengers or crew moving through. By consolidating the work into one multi-day visit, you avoid the cost and complexity of two separate slots, two handler fees and two sets of airside-access paperwork.

The photographic report is particularly valuable for pre-buy inspections and audits: the buyer or the underwriter sees the aircraft in a known, documented condition, with contamination removed, brightwork polished and the cabin disinfected. For fleet operators, a complete detail once or twice a year keeps paint thickness within OEM limits—aggressive washing can remove microns over time—and extends the life of cabin materials by removing ground-in dirt before it abrades the finish. The service is more expensive than a ramp wash, but the cost per flying hour, spread over six or twelve months, is lower than repeated touch-ups and emergency cleans between legs.

What about recurring work and fleet programs at Stuttgart?

Stuttgart is a city hub with regular business-aviation traffic, and several managed fleets route through the GAT on a monthly or quarterly cycle. For a recurring program—say, a complete detail twice a year and a dry wash every eight weeks—we agree a standing schedule with your flight-department manager, pre-book hangar bays through the handler and hold departure slots in advance. The handler logs us as a known contractor after the first visit, which speeds airside access on subsequent trips. If your aircraft overnights at Stuttgart between legs, we can often fit a ramp dry wash or a cabin refresh into the turnaround, provided the slot window allows two hours on stand and the weather cooperates.

For one-off work—a pre-delivery detail, an AOG appearance rescue, a post-winter decon—the process is the same but the lead time is longer: we need 72 hours to coordinate hangar space, confirm the slot and arrange airside passes. During Messe Stuttgart trade-fair weeks, hangar availability tightens and slots compress, so we recommend booking a week ahead if possible. The handler invoices parking, GPU and hangar separately; our invoice covers labour, consumables, equipment and the photographic report. Both invoices go to the flight department or the handling account, depending on your standing instructions.