Exterior Dry Wash at Munich (EDDM)

What changes at Munich for exterior dry wash work?

Munich sits at 1487 feet elevation with two parallel runways, each 4000 metres, and the GAT operates from 06:00 to 22:00 local, with its office open from 05:30. Night restrictions run from 22:00 to 06:00: between 22:00 and midnight, and again from 05:00 to 06:00, only aircraft on the federal bonus list or delayed Chapter 3 types may move; the core night from midnight to 05:00 is reserved for mail, survey flights, and individually approved exceptions. That regime keeps most business jets on the ground overnight, which creates natural windows for exterior work without competing for turnaround slots.

Five handling agents are on site at the GAT—ExecuJet Europe, Lufthansa Technik, MAS Munich Aviation Service, Signature, and AHS München—and ExecuJet lists cleaning among its own offerings, so coordination with your chosen handler is the first step. The terminal is 28.5 kilometres from central Munich, with no public transport to the GAT; short-term parking and the P35 car park are adjacent, which matters when bringing detailing equipment to the apron. Hangar rental can be ordered up to three hours before arrival for short-term parking or maintenance, and FBO work outside the 06:00–22:00 window is on request only, so late or early cleans need advance arrangement.

How do we coordinate with the handler for a dry wash at Munich?

Handlers at the GAT expect third-party service providers to arrive with an airside escort already arranged or to wait for one in the terminal. We confirm the aircraft stand, GPU requirements if the APU will be shut down, and whether the captain or chief pilot wants a walk-around before we start. Some handlers prefer a single point of contact in their ops office; others route requests through the line supervisor on the apron. Either way, we send a service brief twenty-four hours out—aircraft type, registration, estimated duration, and any special attention areas flagged by the flight department—so the handler can note it in the tech log and keep the slot clear.

On the day, we check in at the FBO desk, collect the escort if needed, and photograph the aircraft before laying out a single tarp under the belly to catch degreaser and hydraulic residue. The rest of the dry wash leaves no runoff. If another departure is scheduled within the turnaround window, the handler will tell us whether to pause at the wings or move equipment clear of the taxiway edge; we adapt the sequence so high-traffic areas—fuselage cheat line, nacelle inlets, cabin windows—are finished first, and gear bays come last when the aircraft is secure for the night.

What does the exterior dry wash process look like on the ramp?

We begin at the nose, working aft along the fuselage in vertical sections: spray rinseless cleaner onto the paint, let it dwell for thirty seconds to lift exhaust soot and bug residue, then wipe with a microfibre cloth in overlapping passes. Leading edges get extra attention—dried insects bake onto the surface in cruise, and we use a soft bug sponge and a dedicated pre-cleaner before the main product. Nacelles are cleaned from the spinner back to the pylon, avoiding any contact with intake mesh or sensor ports; exhaust cones are wiped externally only, never inside the tailpipe.

Belly and gear bays are degreased with an aviation-safe solvent applied by spray bottle, then wiped and buffed dry. We mask pitot tubes and static ports with covers before starting and check that no product migrates into hinge lines or control-surface gaps. Exterior windows—cockpit, cabin, and entry door—are cleaned with a separate glass formula that leaves no streaking. Brightwork on wing leading edges and nacelle lips is touched up with a polish applicator if the handler has noted minor scuffing in the tech log. The final step is a walk-around with the handling agent or captain, then a full photo set: nose, tail, both profiles, belly, and any close-ups of previously flagged areas.

Is this service better suited to one-off cleans or recurring schedules at Munich?

Both models work, but recurring schedules make more sense for aircraft based at Munich or returning every seven to fourteen days on a charter rotation. When we know the tail number and the handler in advance, we can pre-position equipment in the GAT's short-term storage, file the airside-pass paperwork once, and streamline each visit to the minimum turnaround time. Flight departments that track appearance standards across a fleet appreciate the consistency: same crew, same products, same documentation format in the tech log and the photo report.

One-off cleans are scheduled when an aircraft diverts for maintenance, when a new owner takes delivery and wants the exterior corrected before the first passenger leg, or when a jet has sat on the ramp through a pollen season and the fuselage has turned yellow. We ask for seventy-two hours' notice if possible, so we can confirm handler coordination and arrange the airside escort without delaying the departure slot. Even a single dry wash generates a photo report and a service summary that the chief pilot can file with the aircraft records, which helps if the same tail returns six months later and the flight department wants to compare the finish.

How long does an exterior dry wash take, and when should it happen between legs?

Duration ranges from three hours for a super-midsize jet with a clean belly to eight hours for an ultra-long-range aircraft that has flown through industrial haze and needs full gear-bay degreasing. Most cleans at Munich fall in the four-to-five-hour window. If the aircraft is turning around the same day, we start as soon as the passengers disembark and the GPU is connected; if it is staying overnight, we begin after the handler has towed it to the stand and the captain has signed off the tech log.

Timing depends on the next departure slot. A morning departure after an overnight clean gives us the full evening to work without pressure; a same-day turnaround means we coordinate with the handler to finish the visible surfaces—fuselage, nacelles, cabin windows—before catering and refuelling, then complete the belly and gear bays while the aircraft is being loaded. We avoid working during slot-coordinated pushes when the apron is busy, and if the weather forecast shows rain within two hours of our finish time, we suggest either moving the clean into a hangar or postponing it until the next visit, because a dry wash offers no protection against fresh water streaks.

What documentation and reporting do you provide after the service?

Every exterior dry wash closes with a two-part report. The first part is a service summary entered into the tech log or handed to the handling agent for the aircraft file: date, start and finish times, products used, areas cleaned, and any observations—paint chips on the nose cone, hydraulic seepage near the main gear, a loose inspection panel that we flagged for maintenance. The second part is a digital photo set uploaded to a shared folder or emailed to the chief pilot within twenty-four hours: before-and-after shots of the full aircraft, close-ups of leading edges and belly, and annotated images if we found anything that needs follow-up.

Flight departments use the photo report to track finish degradation over time, to show owners that appearance standards are being maintained, and to brief a new detailing crew if the aircraft moves to another base. When we work on a recurring schedule, each report references the previous visit, so the chief pilot can see whether bug residue is building up faster in summer or whether a new flight profile is leaving more exhaust soot on the nacelles. That documentation loop is what handlers expect from a professional third-party crew, and it is why we treat the paperwork as part of the service, not an afterthought.