r/Aerials • u/aerialarts000 • 6d ago
Aerial rigging
Hi everyone ,busy moving and creating our new studio and I was curious what everyone's studio rigging looks like?
And yes before all the judgement, a structural engineer will be designing and signing everything off.
Do most people use truss or I beams to rig on and what about for AERIAL YOGA that does not do dynamic drops etc?
Had anyone seen a studio with lots of portable rigs?
Thanks in advance.
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u/ZieAerialist 6d ago
A structural engineer should give you a load rating. They should have nothing to do with designing the rigging because that's waaaaayyy out of their area of expertise.
You need a pro rigger to tell you what's possible in your space once you have the load ratings of the structure.
What other studio's rigging looks like may be fully irrelevant to you if you don't have a similar structure - the giant truss rigging in my old studio in the 40 ft high space wouldn't apply in most places, for example.
It really frightens me when people open studios but clearly do not know even the basics about safe rigging. What else do you not know about safe teaching and safe students??
Clearly, you at least don't know that aerial yoga creates just as much force from uncontrolled beginners because all free falls are shockloads whether that's a drop, a fall, or someone roughly adjusting their seat. Or that falls from low heights are often more dangerous than higher up because the body cannot turn, especially when partially caught in a sling.
Take a rigging class, to start.
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u/aerialarts000 5d ago
Wow ! Judgy much ! And wrong !
The engineer designs the structural blueprint of the rig itself(I beams, Truss or similar). A rigger then designs how that rig connects to the space and how the hardware is configured.
You might want to take a Aerial 101 class as you want to leave nasty comments but don't know the first thing about it.
Also not my first studio ! As a studio owner you should know that insurance expects a certified rigger to sign off on your studio.
So you are telling me a low hammock yin yoga class is more dangerous than a fall from a silk drop ! Crazy how inacurate your information is.
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u/TelemarketingEnigma Static/Dance/Flying Trap, Lyra 6d ago
My old studio temporarily used portable rigs after a move, while waiting for the full rigging system to be installed. It worked okay but not my preferred option, and you’re going to be limited in number of rigging points by the footprint of your rig.
Do you already have a location for your new studio? Rigging options are usually going to be one of the first things you’re thinking about when choosing a location. Whether truss or I beams or some other option will depend on what is already in your space and/or what can fit inside
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u/aerialarts000 5d ago
Hello ,yes already have the studio location and a AMAZING company who specialize in circus designing and building everything together with a Engineer and Rigger.
Was curious about recent trends with studio rigging and also portable rigs to maybe use while waiting for the studio build.
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u/Glad-Alternative894 6d ago
I love my trusses that I purchased from vertical art dance! Summer is amazing and super helpful! Her and her team will come to your studio and set them up with you and teach you so much!
I’ve seen studios with portable rigs but I feel like with all the legs of the portables they will take up a lot of space. I know some insurance companies don’t like portable rigs so I would double check with yours!
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u/Amicdeep 6d ago
We're a great big mash up of different types of rigging I one studio.
Basically its a triangle between
price, practicality, and maintainability.
Hears some info that would have been useful for me when I created a studio.
Static points. Cheap, easy to install, harder to maintain. Harder to change kit over, can be a bit brutal doing some drops. Great for beats and dynamics.
1-1 pully system. Cheapest pully system (but still expensive (in short term) hard on the ropes. Bounces a lot makes changing kit soooo much easier. From this point on you have to consider the ground ankours. (Personally I'm a big fan of spending a little more money and getting something like spinlocks (there super easy to use. And not massively expensive and will save you a ton of time and effort adjusting height)
2-1 like 1-1 but dealing with twists can be a bigger issues. But less bouncy and only a tad more expensive.
3-1 pully system probably the best in praticaliy, winching, little bounce. Easy to change kit. Not cheap but worth it.
Rope Vs wire Vs super static ropes. Ropes are the easiest and cheapest to work with but have the most bounce. Wires are more expensive and more likely to catch but have almost no bounce and are less complicated (1-1 systems will generally always do the job). Super static ropes are probably the most expensive but have the upside of both. That said maintenance (splicing ect) is a more detailed and fiddly skill to master.
I beam Vs truss I beam cheaper and already on the structure. (Static points on an eye beam is less than £100) But you are limited to the beam for location for points. If you can go with just I-beam points do it.
Truss is drastically more expensive (add £10000-£50000 to your budget more expensive) but you can build them to place your rigging where ever you like.
Personally I would go with static points on an eye beam to start. Then start changing the higher ones out for 3-1. Using a static rope with very little elongation (after about 30 different ropes, I'm a massive fan of this stuff) https://honeybros.com/liros-safe-plus-static-marine-yellow-11-5mm-access-climbing-rope-no-splice/?searchid=581927&search_query=LIROS+SAFE+PLUS+STATIC
Then if you need truss as you expand add bits where needed.
This is a cheapest route with points that'll work for what ever you need.
On the questions of mobile rigs. Taking the out and out and putting them away can take a lot of time and effort. And they very rarely cost effective for a studio where you want lot of points.
Hope this helps a little
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u/EdgyAnimeReference Lyra/Hoop 6d ago
I personally look for large structural I beams in my buildings and then put the rigging point either with a strop around the beam, or a beam clamp. I like the beam clamps because you don’t have to replace them but you can’t swing on them.
If your building is just better suited for carrying load then you don’t have to spend nearly as much in equipment.
Of course Confirm with an engineer for the building but typically the old industrial buildings have overhead cranes around 10 tons and up. They also have the tall ceilings your after.
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u/aerialarts000 5d ago
Thanks for your reply ,I Beams would have been a dream. None that can work for my new studio needs unfortunately. Going with a Truss rig.
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u/BohemianCyberpunk Silks/Fabrics 5d ago
Find a good rigger to help. Every space is unique, getting the most height and flexibility requires knowledge.
I re-designed the rigging for my studio when they moved to a new location in return for free classes. If you are short on budget consider something like that.
Rigger - Needs to see the space, understand your needs, come up with a plan.
Structural Engineer - Needs to verify loading at the points the rigger has designed.
Depending on your country, you will likely need a regular inspection too.
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u/aerialarts000 5d ago
Yes ,there is so much red tape having a studio. But glad because safety comes first ! I have a team doing the build, was just curious about recent trends with studio design.
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u/BohemianCyberpunk Silks/Fabrics 5d ago
Flexibility..
Usually done using a rope & pulley system that is operated from the ground so you can easily change out apparatus.
I've seen a fair few 4:1 system too, with a ladder on the wall so someone wearing a harness can raise + lower the acrobat which makes for very dynamic movements.
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u/aerialarts000 5d ago
Thanks everyone ,new space is being designed by a specialized company ,engineer to sign off and rigger to install all certified and load tested. This is a circus company who specializes in this specifically.
This will take a couple of months ,hence wondering about temporary rigs to continue class while waiting.
Oh my gosh, some comments on this page can be so judgemental and mean. I was not asking rigging advise or wanting to do a course.
Just curious about other studio setup's and what people are doing more off recently obviously dependant on your space etc.
Thank you to all who gave good feedback.
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u/internet_observer Silks/Rope/Lyra/Pole 5d ago
Talk to a structural engineer. Even with things like trussing not all trusses are created equal. Something as small the type of connections the truss uses can impact the strength rating by thousands of pounds.
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u/sariannach Silks/Fabrics, Corde Lisse, Sling, Static Trapeze, Lyra 6d ago
I'd suggest Safety in Aerial Arts (FB group) where there are professional riggers for specific questions. As far as atudios with primarily portable rigs, I am familiar with one in my area, and in the space they have four portable rigs, for one class at a time. For comparison, my primary studio fits about twelve permanent points with pulleys in the same area dimensions (for three simultaneous classes!) so the portable rigs don't seem very practical. (That, and the studio with portable rigs also cheaps out on mats (4" mats are not enough for someone learning drops from 15' in the air on silks/sling!!) so I don't find their practices very trustworthy.)