There have been lots of little jobs completed during the last week or two, preparing to move the plane to our hangar so that it is ready for painting.

It so happens that the sprayshop is situated in the next door hangar! That has been a factor in deciding to paint the exterior prior to test flying.

In this first stage of the move we transported everything apart from the fuselage in a rented Luton Van.

We removed the propeller to make it easier for the paintshop, and then packed it up in it’s giant triangular box.

The wings have not been out of their support trolley for a very long time!

We moved one of the workbenches to the hangar as well, for convenience during the considerable work left to do after the painting is finished.

The bench also proved useful as a means to strap down the various control surfaces.

Giant Toblerone!

All the precious items securely strapped in place.

We elected to transport each wing separately, lying flat on their upper surface with lots of floor padding.

Soft padding etc used to prevent any wing lateral movement.

Four journeys later all was safely in the hangar.

Our trusty Jodel D120 feeling miffed by this newcomer?

It seemed strange leaving all these components, involving many hours of painstaking work, away from the safety of the workshop!

The next challenge is to move the fuselage. This is proving a challenge … fitting the 6″ wheels has meant the span between the axle outboard ends has increased to about 96″ (2.44m). The span between the tyre outboard surfaces is 93.5″ (2.37m).

The lorry which I had planned to use can accept up to 2.38m … foohey fudge cake! I attempted a gentle ratchet between the wheels to temporarily reduce the wheel span, but it didn’t feel right and needed more force than I was prepared to accept.

Luckily one of our mates has a 99″ width trailer, but it is needing a few modifications to enable a secure and safe journey for the fuselage. Watch this space!