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Having redesigned one King Air 200 for Synergy Aviation, Andrew Winch was persuaded to transform and take part. Ownership of a second that now bears his name.
Synergy Aviation, which boasts an eight-strong aircraft fleet made up of three King Air 200s, two Cessna Citation Jets, a CJ2, two Navajos and a BE20 Air Ambulance, approached Andrew Winch Designs to see if the design firm would be interested in refitting two of its King Air 200s with new interiors with Farnborough Aircraft Interiors.
The first King Air 200 (GSYGA) to receive the Winch/FAI treatment had started life as an air ambulance before being converted for commercial charter. “we took the seats apart completely stripped them down to their frames and then redesigned their shape and came up with a new cream leather finish with dark leather piping to hide any wear and tear – we completely transformed their appearance.” Winch also developed a new carpet design and replaced the previous dark mahogany gloss finishes with a lighter, more contemporary satin wood. In terms of inspiration, Winch said G-SYGA was informed by the interior of the Range Rover he drove to and from the airport. We really wanted to achieve a more comfortable feel – the old seats were quite pyramid-like, with the backrests tapering in to meet the headrests, so we widened out the shoulders of the seat as much as possible, to the point that they are right up against the fuselage – there’s still clear aisle access, but far more comfort for guests on board.” The seats also feature retractable headrests, increasing the sense of ceiling space.
Second time around Synergy was so impressed with the result, it asked Winch and FAI to consider another King Air 200 Interior overhaul, the second King Air was fitted with even older seating: It had seats with very thin legs without any frame skirt around them – the challenge was to make these almost Tupolev-style chairs look contemporary. We stripped the chairs back to their frame and sand-blasted and epoxycoated them with a dark brown paint to match the leather of the armrests and piping, helping protect the legs from the inevitable wear and tear of passengers’ shoes, In terms of style, G-WNCH has more of a classic Italian sports car feel, rather than Range Rover: “The chairs are more Maserati or Ferrari, like G-SYGA, Winch opted for a lighter and altogether less ‘shiny’ choice of wood: “Both King Airs feature a light satin wood finish, so there’s no gloss in the interior of either aircraft – we took the bling out but made it more beautiful and more comfortable, All the metal fittings were also retouched to bring them more up to date: “The belt buckles, the light fittings, even the hinges on the table – they’re all original, but they’ve all been replated in a black chrome finish. So again, they look much more contemporary even though they’re over 20 years Old
The more modern look and feel is matched by some rather nifty gadgetry – G-WNCH Features 240V power for laptops, and there’s a dock that allows passengers to charge their iPhones or iPods – not bad for an aircraft of such vintage. also an espresso coffee machine running off the inverter and a Hot water boiler for tea and hot drinks, There’s a large stainless steel ice box for champagne and wine with a complete set of wine or champagne glasses, water or whisky glasses, a set of espresso glasses, and coffee cups – all loaded in a bespoke display cabinet.
In terms of challenges, getting the iPod dock to work and finding an espresso machine that fitted the small galley were top of Winch’s list: “Electronics are never easy on any aircraft – it was quite complicated finding a coffee machine, and we ended up borrowing about half a dozen and trying to squeeze them in and out to Try to get them to fit, but got there in the end.
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