THE TRUMP N757AF

Maintenance And Upgrades Being Performed At Chennault International Airport Includes An All-New Paint Job Performed By Local Company LandLocked Aviation Services

Story By Dale Richard • Images By Chris Lognion

For quite some time, there had been a rumor floating around Lake Charles that the famous Trump plane was in town being worked on at Chennault International Airport.  

As it turns out, it was no rumor. 

In the first week of July, former President Trump shared a YouTube video online that showcases the new-look paint and graphics for his iconic aircraft, a Boeing N757AF. 

The video, which was meticulously produced by Lake Charles native Chris Lognion and his company MediaPost Film & Video, was also shared by Eric Trump on his social media pages, and has since received millions of views worldwide over a number of platforms.

The now-viral video is almost four-and-a-half minutes long and documents stunning fixed and drone footage of how Lake Charles-based LandLocked Aviation Services, founded and owned by local resident Tyson Grenzebach, gave the Trump plane a dazzling new look.

“The local community should be very proud of the world-class facilities at Chennault that make this type of project possible right here in Lake Charles,” says Grenzebach.

Grenzebach and his local company, LandLocked Aviation, are no stranger to providing high-quality painting and refinishing services for a multitude of different aircraft.

LandLocked Aviation paints US Air Force C-130’s, P-3’s for the Department of Homeland Security, KC-30’s for the Royal Australian Air Force, and still performs limited work for the JointStars Program, even though that program has been discontinued by the US military.

In addition, LandLocked has a long-standing partnership with Delta Airlines, and many of the various aircraft in their extensive fleet are painted right here in Lake Charles.

The Trump 757, powered by a pair of Rolls Royce RB211 Turbofan engines, was purchased by Trump from the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 2011 and is now widely regarded as the most photographed plane in the world. 

The exceptional work done by LandLocked Aviation that is now being seen all over the world will certainly add to the lore of this famous plane.

The Trump 757 was painted utilizing LandLocked’s climate-controlled hangar, which maintains the hangar temperature at 75 degrees around-the-clock to provide the best possible environment for high-quality paint finishes.

LandLocked used 250 gallons of paint (which was made only five hours away from Lake Charles) on the aircraft, including the gold paint for the “TRUMP” name, which is a special mix gold flake mica material that is specifically designed for maximum sparkle in the sunlight. This special gold lettering is a highly noticeable improvement from the sun-faded lettering from the plane’s old paint scheme.

In another notable change, the stylized “T” on the tail of the Trump 757 was replaced with a waving American Flag graphic, which was designed in Scott, Louisiana by Solo Graphix, long-time partners with LandLocked Aviation Services.

To accomplish this unique job, LandLocked received tremendous support from their customers, including Delta Airlines and Sherwin Williams.

“We would be remiss if we didn’t thank Blend Supply out of Fort Worth, who literally moved mountains to get the specific paint required for this job to us in time,” says Grenzebach. “And we always appreciate H&E Equipment right here in Lake Charles for making sure we are properly equipped for every job we work on.”

In the course of painting the Trump 757, LandLocked used 15 linear miles of tape. The company also provided lunch from Lake Charles restaurants every day during the project for 60 people. The Trump 757 job itself provided full-time employment for an entire month for 40 people.

“The great men and women of LandLocked Aviation Services are always proud to deliver superior aircraft refinishing work while providing exceptional customer service. The fact that we get to do that right here in Lake Charles at Chennault International Airport every day makes every single job we do all the more special,” Grenzebach says.