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Plane Schemer and Paint Shop Review

ColoRv

Well Known Member
I had a paint scheme drawn up that took me months of tinkering with but it just fell a bit short. It seemed a little amateurish (because it was) and lacked an artistic touch. My hangar mate had used Jonathon at Plane Schemer and was pleased so I contacted him. He works quickly and over the course of a week or so he took my sketch on a napkin and turned it into this:

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In the meantime I was flying off my phase one. I had already set up a paint date with Straight Flight here in Centennial after my hangar mate snaked the last available date with Grady of GLO (some things happen for a reason). Three weeks prior to my paint date Straight Flight backs out due to a bigger cooler project showing up. Oshkosh was two months away and I was in trouble, calling paint shops everywhere with no luck.

Jonathon was putting the final touches in the paint scheme and asked which paint shop I wanted him to send the paint mask details to. I told him my delimna and asked if he knew a good shop that could squeeze me in. As it turns out, he is the paint manager at International Jets and after some schedule shuffling agreed to save my Oshkosh dreams.

My first cross country in the new plane was from Denver to Alabama, which was amazing fun. Arriving at International Jets was a relief in that their facility was far beyond my expectations. Their main focus is L-39 jets that they restore from front to back in house so they have A&P's and avionics guys at their disposal.

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The paint shop is huge and split into four areas each of which easily houses an RV in full disassembly. There was another RV8 rolling out finished as mine rolled in, along with a couple twins and a piper. The paint I saw leaving as mine rolled in looked amazing. These guys are the real deal.

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Four long weeks later my baby was done. Basecoat/clearcoat in dupont aviation paint. Base clear is something I have quite a bit of experience with and was not something I was willing to do without. It has a depth that single stage doesn't achieve. It's also far easier to repair if needbe later and has smooth lines between colors. It is, on the other hand, harder and far more time consuming to apply. Price-wise, it cost $500 more than GLO charged my hangar mate for a very rough single stage paint job. If you put the two planes next to each other there really is no comparison. I couldn't be happier with how this paint job turned out. It's show car quality in aircraft paint.

VAF, please take this as my whole hearted endorsement of Jonathon at Plane Schemer and International Jets paint shop. The judges at Oshkosh thought it looked good enough to award it a very nice plaque. :) Thanks Jonathon!

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Jonathon's email address is: [email protected]
 
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Very nice Bill. I think Im going to contact Jonathan too. Of all the planes I want to copy, the top 4 are all done by him!!
 
He has a lot of talent. I wanted a pretty simple design and I got exactly what I wanted but I've seen his 'not so subtle' designs and they are just amazing.
 
As the hangar mate that Bill is referring to, I wholeheartedly agree, Jonathan was some of the best money I spent on my project and a helluva nice guy. PM if you want to know more about my experience. You can also see the rendering and finished product on my website.
 
I'll chime in as I was one of his original customers - a paint plate of part of my design is one of his booth show pieces. Jonathan is a no-sleep awesome guy who has Red Bull running through his veins. I would challenge anyone to find someone who will bend over backwards as far as he does with coming up with awesome schemes. The fact that he also manages a paint shop that can put your/his wild ideas to metal, with a top-notch staff, is even further icing.
 
Using him too!!

He is working on my design as well. He is responsive and punctual. I will probably have him doing the paint as well. It will be a time frame issue.

You won't be disappointed using him to assist in your design. Money well spent. He is a hard worker and living on Ramen and Mac and Cheese:eek:
 
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Great Service and Product

Ron Duren also pointed me toward Jonathan. I also agree, the services and cooperation I received were great and well worth the money. I made many changes and adjustments to the design and Jonathan was very cool about it the whole time. Can't wait to see the collaborative design come to life on my plane someday.
 
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