Exterior Dry Wash at Grenoble Alpes Isère (LFLS)

Why choose a dry wash at a mountain airport?

Alpine operations leave their mark: bug strikes on the leading edges during summer positioning legs, hydraulic mist and brake dust in the wheel wells, and exhaust carbon streaking aft of the nacelles. A traditional wash bay solves it, but Grenoble has no dedicated facility and diverting to one adds an hour each way. Exterior dry wash removes that calculus. We work on your stand with rinseless chemistry, so there is no wastewater to capture, no apron-services negotiation, and no slot eaten by a tow.

The process is straightforward: one technician per side applies a high-lubricity emulsion that encapsulates dirt, then lifts it with microfibre in straight, overlapping passes. Bug residue comes off leading edges and radomes with a dedicated solvent; belly grime and gear-bay oil get a citrus degreaser. Exterior windows and inspection lights are polished last. You end up with a clean aeroplane and a timestamped photo set for the tech log, all inside the time it takes to load catering and file.

What changes at Grenoble Alpes Isère?

Grenoble sits at 1,302 ft on the Bièvre plain, roughly 40 km from the city, with a single 3,050-metre asphalt runway and code-D taxiways able to take the largest business jets. Traffic is heavily concentrated in the winter ski season—December through April—when the airport serves as the gateway to Alpe d'Huez, Les Deux Alpes and Villard-de-Lans. ExecuJet, the FBO partner of airport operator Edeis, runs the Terminal Affaires at the airport entrance and handles the majority of business-jet movements during that window.

Operationally, that seasonal pulse means ramp slots tighten in January and February; if you want a dry wash during a midday turnaround, we coordinate arrival time with the handler the day before. Customs and immigration are available on request: from December to April they follow the airport operator's hours, while May through November requires 24 to 48 hours' notice for non-Schengen flights. We schedule around that lead time so the aircraft is clean and the crew is legal when you depart.

Weather is the other variable. Winter temperatures regularly sit below freezing on the apron, which thickens waterless product and slows the wipe. We pre-warm bottles in a heated van and add ten to fifteen minutes to the estimate if it is below –5 °C. Summer is easier—long daylight, warm air, fewer movements—but also brings thunderstorms that scrub the day's dirt for free, so many operators skip the wash until autumn.

How does waterless cleaning fit a turnaround at Grenoble?

Most Grenoble turnarounds during ski season are passenger swaps: drop a group in the morning, pick them up a week later, or shuttle between London and the Alps twice in a weekend. Dry wash slides into either pattern. If you have a four-hour layover, we start as soon as the GPU is connected and finish before the passengers arrive. If you night-stop, we work the evening after the handler has towed you to the overnight stand, then deliver photos by email before breakfast.

The FBO expects a heads-up when a third-party crew is airside. We hold our own escort passes, but ExecuJet prefers a name list 24 hours ahead so their duty manager knows who is on the ramp. That is standard across Luxaviation-group stations and takes one email. On the day, we check in at the Terminal Affaires desk, collect the stand number, and drive directly to the aircraft. If you are still buttoned up when we arrive, we start with the belly and gear; once the door opens and the handler sets chocks, we move to the fuselage and wings.

What does the process leave out—and when do you need more?

Exterior dry wash is a maintenance clean, not a restoration. We remove soil, bugs, and light exhaust staining; we do not correct oxidation, polish brightwork to a mirror finish, or strip wax. If the paint is chalky or the cheat line has gone grey, you need a single-stage polish or a full detail. If there is hydraulic fluid baked onto the belly from a slow leak, that wants a degreaser soak and a scrub pad, which adds an hour. We flag both situations in the photo report so you can plan the next service.

Leading-edge tape tears and stone chips also sit outside the scope. We clean around them and note their position, but we do not fill, sand, or re-tape; your maintenance provider handles that. Similarly, we avoid no-touch avionics—pitot tubes, static ports, angle-of-attack vanes—and leave them exactly as we found them. If the nacelle intake has a cover, we wipe the lip and the cover exterior; if it is open, we stop at the highlight and do not reach inside.

What documentation do you provide after a dry wash?

Every exterior dry wash closes with a written report and a photo set. The report lists the aircraft type and registration, the date and stand location, the products used (all on the OEM-approved list), start and finish times, and any defects we noticed—paint chips, loose fasteners, fluid leaks. The photos cover nose, tail, both profiles, belly, and any area that needed extra attention: a bug-strike concentration on the left wing, a hydraulic smear aft of the nosewheel door. We timestamp each image and send the package as a PDF within two hours.

Flight departments file the report in the tech log as proof of work; some also use the photos for insurance records or pre-purchase documentation when the aircraft is about to list. If you need a specific format—a particular header, a signature block, a cross-reference to a work order—tell us when you book and we will match it. The goal is a document that satisfies your director of maintenance without a follow-up call.

How do Alpine winter conditions affect the exterior—and the clean?

Cold-soaked aluminium and composite do not react well to waterless product below a certain temperature: the emulsion will not spread evenly and the wipe leaves streaks. We counter that by warming bottles in a 12-volt cabinet during the drive to the airport and applying product in smaller sections so it does not freeze on the surface. If the overnight low has been below –10 °C and the aircraft has been sitting outside, we wait until mid-morning when the fuselage has warmed a few degrees, or we tow the aeroplane into a hangar if one is available and the handler agrees.

De-icing fluid is the other wrinkle. If you have had a Type I or Type IV application earlier in the day and you want a dry wash that evening, we rinse the control surfaces and the belly with demineralised water first—otherwise the glycol film prevents the waterless product from bonding to the paint. That adds thirty minutes and technically makes it a rinseless wash, but it is the only way to do the job properly. Most crews simply wait until the next leg, when the fluid has long since blown off, and schedule the dry wash at the destination.