Wing-Mating Ceremony in Savannah, Georgia

We left Stennis Sunday afternoon at about 2:30pm for Savannah, Georgia for the G450 wing-mating ceremony. The plane is scheduled to be completed in June, but as Scott explained, it is "born" at the wing-mating ceremony. The Gulfstream salespeople were really nice and treated us like royalty. After we arrived we went out to dinner at a very nice restaurant in downtown Savannah called Sapphire Grill, but unfortuneately we didn't get pictures. We also didn't get a picture of the hotel, but it was also very nice. All in all, quite the experience. We're not used to being so catered to!

The passengers, five altogether.

A rare look at the designated photo taker.
Some light reading for Scott.
Scott being a gracious steward to the other passengers.
Renee and the air show...33,000 feet, 552 mph!

Scott talking to Eric on the SatCom phone at 33,000 feet.

Downtown Savannah. The Cadillac Escalade that picked us up upon our arrival.

The wing-mating ceremony took place at 3am in the production area. It only took about half an hour for the crew to move the fuselage into place on top of the wings and bolt them together with six main bolts. Why 3am? It's the least busy time for the crew so having a bunch of people getting in their way taking pictures isn't as big a problem as during the day.

The fuselage getting ready to be lifted by the crane over to the wings.

Lifting it up...

Moving it into place over the wings...

The wings waiting...

The fuselage being lowered...

Almost there...

Photo op!

Scott tapping the last bolt into place. Wing mating complete.
Departing for Stennis Monday after lunch.
Scott and Jim getting ready to leave.
Scott making himself comfortable for the trip home.