I found A solution. It might not be THE solution, but at least it works. I messed around with the code above but could never get rid of the white bar on the left where the status bar was. This solution takes care of that by creating a whole new window.
Blogged here:
iPhone programming: how to switch to a landscape view at the moment of your choosing
You don't get to keep the continuity of the nav bar but I'm sure you can figure out how to fake it out.
