Duncan Aviation and Ripley’s Prove That Pigs Can Fly

Believe it or not, pigs can fly—or at least one can, in the form of a Cessna Citation XLS+ that Duncan Aviation painted to look like a winged pig for Ripley’s Believe It or Not! The Lincoln, Nebraska-based MRO provider, which is exhibiting this week at NBAA-BACE, unveiled the flying work of art on Friday.

Painted in 17 colors, the “flying pig” sports a gold nose ring and a gold earring shaped like a rubber chicken. White feathered wings decorate the fuselage above the airplane’s actual wings, which are painted to resemble a partly cloudy blue sky. Ripley’s branding appears on the engines and tail. 

“They don’t call us Believe It or Not! for nothing,” said Ripley’s president Jim Pattison Jr.

Completion sales representative Angie Coleman said the job began when the chief pilot of another airplane Duncan had delivered asked whether the company could paint a Ripley’s design he had seen. That concept differed from the one Ripley’s submitted for a quote a couple of months later, she said, because of the need to adjust the flat design for the jet's body.

Lead designer Hannah Mann said translating flat art onto the curves of the fuselage, wings, and engines took close collaboration between the two companies’ designers. She said her work included refining the artwork and placement, selecting colors and finishes, and coordinating with the paint team.