Can you explain us more about the design and painting process of the VL3 because it’s pretty specific…
Yes indeed, the idea is to follow the customer in a customization process of his plane as much as possible and I can assure you that there really no limits. Our goal is to provide a feeling to the customer that makes the design of his plane by himself. This certainly provides another dimension and another approach to the final result. It’s a lot of fun, we play with colors, lines, leather, alcantara stitches, like I said, there are no limits.
Where do you find your inspiration?
Aviation… planes, cars, automobile industry, everything which is around me. Nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed. I am closely working and listening to the customer, trying to catch his ideas and make an interpretation of all this on a plane.
At the beginning, you had an art school background, and then you joined Jean Marie and his company?
Yes, I know Jean Marie and Jean Baptiste now since 28 years, we almost grew up together. We have always been really good friends. Me with my background in arts and them with their huge knowhow in aviation, they are almost born in a plane. It’s their passion, it’s their live, we are completing each other well.
So technically, how does it work to paint a VL3, because I expect there are rules to follow regarding the weight, there is a lot of brushing and so on?
Yes, because of the ultralight industry, we are really working on the weight like the plane that you see here. We are painting the colors next to each other, not on top of each other to win weight, so it ads a lot more work for the protection of the pain etc. Basically, we came up with a special technique result of brushing which is also bit of a knowhow. When the plane is finished, you don’t feel any different, any relief in the paint.
To sum up, you don’t paint the plane with yellow color and then add colors on top of it with checked pattern?
Every shape is perfectly marked down before the paint, we would first paint the silver color, then the yellow and at the end the dark grey. Everything has been always protected between each step, so it ads a lot of work but it helps us to reduce the weight and to have the perfect final result.
For the interior, you are doing this also everything by yourself?
There, I am also in charge of the design. I try to always create new design of seats. We keep the same shape of the seats, but we try to always create a new design with different lines to upgrade the current catalogue seat options. We currently have 6 different models of interior and this gives us the freedom to play with leather, Alcantara, stitches, logos, like I said, there are no limits. We are really there to make your plane, not to make ours. I will take the time to speak with you to come up with the result that satisfies your wishes, this the JMB idea.
So you adapt yourself little bit like an architect to the personality of your customer?
Yes, that’s correct. The target is to have a full satisfaction of the owner, because at the end, he is the one that will fly the plane. So that’s really what we are aiming for.