Cranes prepare heavy transport aircraft for flight to China
17 March 2009Two 200t plus capacity cranes have been used to load a Russian heavy transport aircraft bound for China.
UK crane hire specialist Winterlift Ltd supplied a 220t all-terrain Grove GMK 5220 and a 250t Liebherr LTM 1250 mobile for the lift, which required a 94t turbine to be positioned for loading on to the AN 124-100. This was lifted onto a specially constructed ramp that allowed the heavy load to be skated into the cargo hold.
The Grove operated with a 27m boom length and 80t hook block, while the LTM 1250 had a 25.9m main boom and 70t hook block.
Anthony Shufflebotham, Winterlift’s appointed person for the job, said two cranes were used for the lift as they offered a more cost-efficient solution than a single 400t Liebherr, which had originally been talked about for the work.
