Exterior Dry Wash at Girona-Costa Brava (LEGE)

Why dry wash instead of a traditional rinse at Girona?

A wet wash requires a dedicated bay, a water source, waste-water containment and often a tow or reposition. At Girona-Costa Brava none of that infrastructure sits airside for transient business aviation, and even when water is available the airport's single 2,400-metre runway and steady seasonal traffic make towing delays expensive. Dry wash eliminates every dependency: we bring our own products, work on the ramp or the apron in front of the handler, and leave no runoff.

The chemistry is straightforward. Aviation-grade waterless cleaners encapsulate dirt and lift it from the paint without abrasion; microfibre applicators spread the product and separate towels remove it. Bug protein, hydraulic mist and exhaust carbon all release cleanly, and because there is no standing water the process works in any ambient temperature above freezing. For an operator whose jet has a two-hour passenger turnaround or an overnight stop, dry wash delivers a clean aircraft without adding a line item to the handling invoice or a slot request to the schedule.

What does the Exterior Dry Wash include on a super-midsize or large-cabin jet?

The service covers every external surface an owner or charter guest will see—and several they will not. We start at the nose: radome, windscreens, pilot windows, forward fuselage and the cheat line. Wings, winglets and empennage follow, with attention to leading edges where bug strikes concentrate and to control surfaces where hydraulic weep and exhaust residue collect. Nacelles and the underside of each engine pylon are cleaned, then belly panels, gear doors and the gear themselves—struts, wheels, brakes, torque links—are degreased.

Exterior lights, static ports (wiped around, never inserted) and the underside of fairings complete the checklist. If the aircraft carries visible brightwork—polished leading edges, window surrounds—we touch it up by hand to restore reflectivity, though a full single-stage polish is a separate service. Duration ranges from three hours for a light jet to eight for an ultra-long-range type; the variables are fuselage length, wing area and the degree of soiling. You receive a date-stamped photo report and a tech-log sticker when we sign off.

What changes at Girona-Costa Brava that affects the aircraft or the timing?

Girona-Costa Brava sits at 469 feet elevation, 12.5 kilometres south-west of Girona city centre, with a single runway and no published curfew—the airport operates around the clock. Six handling agents are present, and FBO service is available at any hour: Universal Aviation and Sky Valet both list 24-hour operations, ExecuJet offers the same on request, and Centervol maintains its own 2,000-square-metre facility with crew briefing rooms and a Part-145 hangar inside the perimeter. Customs and immigration are available during aerodrome hours, which at LEGE means continuously, so a pre-dawn departure or a late-evening arrival will not strand the crew without support.

The practical consequence for exterior detailing is that we can schedule around any turnaround or overnight window the handler confirms. If the jet lands at 22:00 local and departs at 08:00, a dry wash fits the night shift; if it arrives mid-morning for a same-day repositioning leg, we start as soon as the GPU is connected. Because the airport handles steady seasonal traffic—the Costa Brava resorts drive summer peaks—ramp congestion and slot pressure are predictable, and the handling agents know when a stand will be free long enough for us to work without rushing.

How does the Mediterranean climate affect paint and the cleaning interval?

Coastal Spain combines intense ultraviolet exposure, salt aerosol and seasonal dust, each of which degrades paint and brightwork if left unchecked. Salt deposits pull moisture from the air and hold it against the clearcoat, accelerating oxidation; UV radiation breaks down the polymer chains in the paint itself, leading to chalking and loss of gloss; and fine dust—especially during Saharan events in spring and autumn—acts as an abrasive when windblown across the fuselage during taxi or when wiped carelessly during a hurried clean.

For an aircraft based at or frequently transiting through LEGE, the recommended interval is every two to four weeks. Charter operators whose jets turn through Girona multiple times each month often choose a standing dry-wash appointment—every second visit, or every third—so the paint never accumulates enough contamination to require a decontamination treatment or a corrective polish. If the jet has been parked for a week or more on the apron, expect heavier soiling: the nacelle undersides and the belly will carry more exhaust residue, and the leading edges will show bug strikes from the approach and taxi. In those cases we adjust our dwell time and may recommend a decon wash as the next step.

What does a recurring dry-wash programme look like at Girona?

A recurring programme means the handler alerts us when your aircraft is inbound, we confirm the stand and the available window, and the work happens without a fresh purchase order each time. The chief pilot or flight-department manager provides a list of tail numbers, a preferred interval—every two weeks, every three flights, every month—and any standing instructions: whether to skip the belly if the jet is AOG and time is short, whether to photograph specific panels the maintenance team is monitoring, whether to leave the report with the handler or send it directly.

Billing is monthly, itemised by tail and date, and the per-service rate holds for the term of the agreement. For a charter operator running a mixed fleet of super-midsize and large-cabin jets through LEGE on Mediterranean routes, a programme removes the administrative friction: the operations team books the slot, we execute the wash, and the aircraft leaves clean. If a jet arrives outside the usual interval—weather delay, schedule change, an unplanned diversion—we accommodate it as a one-off within the same rate structure, provided the handler can confirm a stand and a three-hour minimum window.

Do you provide documentation, and what goes in the tech log?

Every dry wash closes with a dated photo report and a tech-log sticker. The report is a PDF: wide shots of the aircraft on stand, close-ups of any areas that required extra attention—leading edges, belly panels, nacelle undersides—and a checklist confirming which surfaces were cleaned and which products were used. If we note something during the work—a paint chip, a loose fastener, fluid weep, a cracked lens—it appears in the notes section of the report and we inform the handling agent or the crew immediately.

The tech-log sticker is a single-line entry: date, airport ICAO, service performed, duration, technician name and signature. It is not a maintenance action, so it does not require a release or a Part-145 stamp, but it does provide a record that the exterior was inspected and cleaned. For operators whose continuing-airworthiness management system tracks appearance work—especially those under IS‑BAO or an equivalent SMS—the sticker and the report together satisfy the documentation requirement. We keep a copy of every report for two years, so if a question arises later about when a panel was last cleaned or what its condition was on a given date, we can retrieve the file.