Exterior Dry Wash at Stuttgart (EDDS)

Why choose a dry wash at Stuttgart instead of waiting for a wet facility?

Stuttgart is a Level 3 slot-coordinated airport, so your departure window is fixed the moment the slot is confirmed. Waiting for a wash bay—especially during Messe Stuttgart trade-fair weeks when parking is tight—can push you into the next available slot or force an expensive re-coordination. A dry wash happens on stand: we bring waterless detailing chemistry, microfibre and polish straight to the aircraft, work around GPU and catering trucks, and finish while the cabin crew restocks.

Rinseless products lift bug strikes, exhaust soot and hydraulic mist without high-pressure water, so there is no need to tow the jet to a remote wash pad or negotiate environmental approvals. For operators flying a weekly Stuttgart–Geneva–London rotation, a dry wash every second visit keeps the airframe presentable without the logistical weight of a full decon and rinse. The process also suits one-off cleans: an inbound red-eye lands at 06:30, we start at 07:00, and the aircraft is polished and photo-documented by early afternoon, ready for the owner's evening departure.

What changes at Stuttgart that affects the timing of exterior cleaning?

The airport sits at 1,276 feet elevation, thirteen kilometres south of Stuttgart city centre, with a single runway—07/25, 3,345 metres—and a night curfew that shapes the working day. Jet departures are permitted 06:00–23:00 and arrivals 06:00–23:30 local time; no take-offs after 23:00, and no civil jet landings between 23:30 and 06:00 except delayed flights originally scheduled before 23:30, which may land until midnight. The General Aviation Terminal at Flughafenstrasse 116 is staffed 05:30–23:00 (weekends until 22:30), so any late-evening detailing must be arranged in advance with the handler and our crew.

Because every movement requires a slot, turnaround windows are fixed: if you have a two-hour slot and catering runs late, the dry wash compresses into whatever time remains. Messe Stuttgart—the state trade-fair complex—sits directly beside the airport and generates business-aviation peaks during major fairs; parking becomes scarce, handlers prioritise quick turns, and our pre-positioning on the apron the night before ensures we start the moment the chocks go in. Kurz Aviation Service manages GA handling and controls apron access, so we coordinate entry, equipment and waste disposal through them. Customs and immigration are available twenty-four hours at the GAT, which matters for early inbounds: an 06:15 arrival clears in thirty minutes, and we can begin work by 07:00 without waiting for office hours.

How does a dry wash work on a super-midsize or larger jet at the GAT?

We start at the nose: spray a panel with waterless detailing solution, let it dwell fifteen seconds to emulsify contaminants, then wipe with a clean microfibre in straight, overlapping passes. Bug strikes on the radome and leading edges get a second application and a soft brush if the residue is baked on. The process moves aft along the fuselage—one panel at a time—then out to the winglets, across the horizontal stabiliser and down the nacelles. Exhaust soot around the tailpipe and APU outlet needs a heavier concentration and a dedicated grey towel; we never cross-contaminate a sooty towel onto painted surfaces.

Belly work and landing-gear degreasing happen with the aircraft on its own gear or, if the handler offers a tow into Hangar 1, under LED work lights. We spray a biodegradable degreaser onto the belly skin and gear struts, agitate with a brush, then wipe and buff. Exterior windows—cockpit, cabin, baggage-door glass—are cleaned with an ammonia-free glass polish to avoid streaks in low-angle sunlight. Leading-edge brightwork gets a light polish if oxidation is starting; a full brightwork restoration is a separate line item, but we include touch-up buffing in the standard dry wash. The final step is a walk-around with the captain or handling agent: we note any paint chips, corrosion spots or fluid leaks in the tech log and photograph the finished airframe in six standard angles for the flight department's records.

What do Stuttgart handlers expect from a third-party detailing crew on the apron?

Kurz Aviation Service requires every contractor to hold a valid airside pass or be escorted at all times. We carry Flughafenkoordination Deutschland-compliant insurance and submit our crew list and vehicle registration forty-eight hours before the job; the handler emails an apron-access confirmation and assigns a parking spot for our van near the GAT. On the day, we check in at the handler's operations desk, collect the escort if needed, and move equipment to the stand only after the aircraft has been chocked and the GPU connected.

The handler expects us to keep the work area clean: all waste—used towels, empty product bottles, packaging—goes into our own bins and leaves with us. If we need potable water for a final rinse of the windscreen or to dilute a degreaser, we ask the handler in advance; we do not tap into aircraft service points. FOD discipline is non-negotiable: microfibre cloths are counted before and after, and any dropped item is reported immediately. When the job is finished, we walk the stand with the handling agent, confirm no fluid has been spilled, and sign off in their contractor log. For recurring cleans—say, a fractional operator with a Wednesday-morning Stuttgart slot every week—the handler keeps our access paperwork on file, and we simply call ops the evening before to reconfirm the stand number and start time.

How does recurring dry-wash scheduling work for a Stuttgart-based jet?

Flight departments running a regular Stuttgart operation—corporate shuttle, fractional share, charter certificate—typically book a dry wash every two to four weeks, depending on utilisation and season. We set a standing appointment: second Tuesday of the month, 08:00 start, four-hour window. The scheduler sends us the tail number and stand assignment by email the afternoon before; if the inbound leg is delayed or the aircraft diverts, we adjust on twenty-four hours' notice at no charge. For aircraft that overnight at Stuttgart between a late arrival and an early departure, we can start work after the cabin crew leaves and finish before the morning pre-flight, provided the handler grants night-apron access and the curfew allows the inbound landing.

Recurring work builds efficiency: we know the airframe, we have notes on problem areas—a belly panel that collects hydraulic mist, a winglet leading edge prone to bug strikes—and we bring exactly the right quantity of product. The handler recognises our van, the security checkpoint waves us through, and the captain trusts the process enough to sign the release remotely. When Messe Stuttgart has a major fair and parking is tight, we ask the handler to reserve our usual stand or accept a different day that week; flexibility on both sides keeps the schedule intact even during peak traffic.

What documentation and photo reporting do you provide after a dry wash at Stuttgart?

Every job closes with a digital report emailed to the flight department within two hours of completion. The report includes six time-stamped photographs—port profile, starboard profile, nose three-quarter, tail three-quarter, belly (if accessible), and cockpit windows—plus a checklist confirming fuselage, wings, empennage, nacelles, gear, windows and lights have been cleaned. If we find paint damage, corrosion, fluid leaks or loose fasteners during the wash, we photograph the defect, mark its location on a plan-view diagram, and note it in a separate 'observations' section; this goes to the captain and, if requested, to the operator's maintenance-control desk.

For fleet operators or management companies tracking multiple tails, we can integrate our reports into your existing maintenance platform—upload photos to a shared folder, populate fields in a CAMO database, or simply forward the PDF to your tech-log coordinator. The documentation satisfies audit trails and helps schedule the next service: if the report shows heavy bug accumulation after a summer Mediterranean leg, the scheduler might move the next dry wash forward by a week. We also keep our own archive: if a dispute arises six months later about a paint chip or a window scratch, we can pull the original photos and prove the condition at handover.