There’s quite a bit of work to perform on the bottom of the fuselage. Mostly finish type work but some mechanical work too. Trying to do this work from underneath is difficult so while the fuselage is still fairly light it’s easier to flip the plane and do it from the top. So I built a set of semi-circular flip jigs and bolted them to the center strake. Then I put out a call for a number of people to help with the manual labor. Here’s Mark (left) and John (right) wondering “how in the hell is this thing going to fly?” before the flip.

I clamped a sawhorse to the top (it will soon be underneath) of the canard bulkhead to support the front once it’s flipped.           

Ken walking around wondering “how in the hell is this thing going to fly?”

Me, Mark, John, Ken, Steve and Tom staring the lift.

Me (left), Steve (right), Mark (behind Steve) almost at the halfway point. John (far left) is looking like he wants to get as far from this operation as possible.

Over the top. Everybody else has moved over the other side. I’m just leaning on this side so everybody else can feel a little extra weight.

Coming down.

Just a little further. In addition to supporting the front, the sawhorse also makes for something to hold onto as John figured out.

The eagle has landed! Tom (left, and note the t-shirt on a 40 degree day), Ken (middle) and a happy me (right).

Rolling the turtle back in the shop. John (left), Mark (middle) and Steve (right, and note the shorts on a 40 degree day) pushing.

Official event photographer Sarah.