Private aviation specialist ACI Jet recently opened a new state-of-the-art HQ facility in California, which incorporates large viewing windows to give customers and the public alike a glimpse of jets on display in a dedicated showroom hanger. In order to exhibit the planes to their full potential, the company has installed a versatile lighting system comprised of ADJ Focus Spot 4Z moving head luminaires.
Headquartered on California’s Central Coast since its founding in 1998, ACI Jet is a recognized leader in private aviation services. Led by founder and avid aviator William ‘Bill’ Borgsmiller, ACI Jet’s aviation ecosystem includes aircraft ground support services, aircraft maintenance, private jet charter services and aircraft management. ACI Jet ensures its clients’ mission success through the implementation of the latest aviation safety technologies and a leadership team comprised of Aviators Doing Aviation®, aviation enthusiasts who know aviation from the inside out.
Opened on April 5th, 2021, the new ACI Jet headquarters brings all of its services together under one roof. This facility houses an aircraft maintenance hangar and a new showroom hangar displaying managed private jets, connected in the middle by a stunning executive passenger terminal and corporate headquarters. Besides the regular business operations, the building will also be used for events and gatherings, with some spaces open to the public.
One of the main goals that inspired the design is ACI Jet’s desire to share its love of aviation with the Central Coast community. The world of aviation can sometimes seem mysterious and closed off behind walls and fences. ACI Jet hopes to become a window into that world and inspire future aviators to pursue their dreams of becoming pilots. Many of the employees at all levels have, or are working on, their pilot’s licenses, in part due to spending time at the airport and around planes.
A special feature of the new showroom hangar are the giant windows providing a view of the jets inside from both the lobby and the main road in front of the airport. As they prepared to open their new HQ, ACI Jet’s management wanted to maximize the effectiveness of this window into their business by lighting the planes and bringing more attention to this unique feature. They sought out the experience of Astro AVL in Glendale, CA, which offers a full-service sales, rental, installation, and production support service for audio, video, and lighting equipment. Having discussed the scope of the project and the company’s specific requirements in detail, Astro AVL’s Sales Manager, Cypher Shah, suggested the ADJ Focus Spot 4Z as the perfect solution.
“People are always asking me for bright fixtures, but of course brightness is relative and depends a lot on the particular application,” explains Cypher. “But the Focus Spot 4Z really has an impressive output that is ideal for use in medium-sized spaces, which makes it the perfect fixture for a lot of our customer’s projects, including the ACI Jet HQ. They didn’t need to spend the money to make the next step up [in the Focus Series] to meet their needs, which allowed them to purchase more fixtures within their budget. We sell all the models in Focus Series, which each have something to offer for specific customers and projects, but the 4Z really sits in a sweet spot. I still remember when Ted [Molina, ADJ’s Southern California Key Account Sales Manager] first brought one in for a demo; I was incredibility impressed by the brightness, clarity, and features. We put it up in our showroom right away and have been selling them ever since. The Focus Spot 4Z has done me good, and when something does you good, you kind of lean into it. So, it’s become a definite go-to fixture. It’s also proved to be very reliable and has never caused us any headaches. Finally, it’s at a price point where you don’t have to twist a customer’s arm to see the value, they just intuitively understand it, which makes it a pleasure to sell!”
Harnessing the power of a 200W cool white LED engine, paired with precision-engineered optics, the Focus Spot 4Z generates a striking beam of intense light. It features an extensive collection of beam manipulation features, which make it a versatile fixture that is ideal for use in a wide variety of applications. Motorized zoom allows its beam angle to be altered remotely between 11 and 22-degrees, while motorized focus means that the beam can be kept sharp at varying projection distances. An independent color wheel boasts 8 vibrant options (+ open white), while the separate GOBO wheel features 6 slots for replaceable, rotatable (indexed) GOBOs (+ open). Finally, two separate indexed rotating prisms (5-facet linear and 6-facet circular) allow for the creation of stunning aerial effects and widespread pattern projections.
“In one of the Focus Spot 4Zs we installed a custom glass GOBO of ACI Jet’s logo,” continues Cypher. “The client saw immense value in having a lighting fixture that not only offers a variety of functions, but also has a level of personal uniqueness with the integration of their logo. Suddenly, a piece of equipment that was already a great proposition transcended to another level and become their lighting fixture, with their branding, and that really hit home. Including a custom GOBO is a way that we are often able to increase the value of the Focus Spot 4Z to our customers even further, making it personalized to their application. It makes it feel like the fixture was built specifically for their project.”
A total of seven Focus Spot 4Z fixtures were installed in the ceiling of the ACI Jet showroom hanger, with the unit incorporating the custom GOBO positioned closest to the display windows. The GOBO pattern is projected on the floor of the hanger in front of the jets, while the remaining six fixtures illuminate the planes on display from various angles. As the actual jets displayed in the hanger will be continuously changed, the use of moving head fixtures was essential to allow for quick repositioning of the lights for planes of different sizes, positioned in different locations. Another reason for the choice of the versatile Focus Spot 4Z was that the space may also be used to host events in the future, and therefore a lighting system that could also easily be used to add movement and color was a key requirement. Finally, since the fixtures will be running for extended periods for time, the low power consumption and reduced maintenance requirements of the Focus Spot 4Z’s LED light source was an important factor that led to its selection for this project.
“The finished project looks fantastic,” concludes Cypher. “They have a beautiful fleet, which is really shown off to its full potential. Now, as you drive by there on the main road, you don’t have to wonder what’s going on in that building, you can look right inside, see the planes and get a glimpse into the world of private aviation. In that regard, our client has achieved exactly what they set out to do and, for their part, they have been really impressed by both the output and versatility of the Focus Spot 4Z.”
