Nebraska Company Rises To Ripley’s Challenge With Pink Cartoon Pig
Duncan Aviation’s newly painted Citation 560XLS+ is difficult to describe.
A bright pink cartoon pig stretches across the airplane, complete with wings, a gold nose ring, a squeaky chicken earring and Ripley’s Believe It or Not! branding on the engines.
As Ripley’s Believe It or Not! President Jim Pattison Jr. put it, “They don’t call us Believe It or Not! for nothing.”
“When I saw the paint scheme they selected and submitted for a quote, I immediately knew this was a project our paint team needed to take on,” said Angie Coleman, Duncan’s senior completion sales representative.
From the earliest conversations, it was clear that their client Ripley Entertainment was looking for more than an ordinary aircraft paint scheme. It wanted something bold, colorful, and unmistakably its own. Duncan’s team was told that the crazier, more creative and more distinctive the idea, the better.
The finished scheme incorporated 17 colors, and that was just part of the challenge. Every element also had to flow properly over the fuselage, wings, engines and other three-dimensional surfaces.
Paint Crew Leader Trevor Reinke was responsible for the day-to-day work on the floor, including planning, coordinating and helping guide the aircraft through each stage of the painting process. Paint Team Leader Brandon Boyer focused on keeping the overall project moving when questions arose involving colors, design details or the timeline.
Boyer said the team felt a personal connection to the finished aircraft after investing so much effort into every detail.
“A flying pig was definitely a first for us here at Duncan Aviation,” Reinke said.
Photo credit Duncan Aviation
FMI: www.duncanaviation.aero
