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Aerospace & Aviation

How to lift a helicopter

Helicopters sometimes do not lift themselves. Verlinde hoists installed by Handel Sollevamenti allow maintenance work to be carried out on the Elifriulia fleet in total safety. We instinctively think of helicopters as being perfectly capable of lifting themselves autonomously, even in the most difficult operating conditions. And yet, now and then, they too need a little “help” while waiting to take flight. Elifriulia, Italy’s longest-established operator in the helicopter services and flight school market, tells us about it.

Industry
Helicopter services & maintenance
Location
Ronchi dei Legionari, Italy
Products
Verlinde Eurobloc VT electric wire rope hoist

OVERVIEW AND CHALLENGE


Founded in 1971, Elifriulia is Italy’s longest-established helicopter service company and one of the country’s five largest helicopter operators. Its activities include helicopter services, search and rescue operations, forest-fire prevention and fighting, aerial work, maintenance, passenger transport, aerial photography and flight training.

To optimize helicopter maintenance procedures, particularly work involving engines located beneath the blades in the upper part of the aircraft, Elifriulia needed a structure that would reduce the need to dismantle engines during certain recurring maintenance activities.

The lifting solution also had to comply with strict dimensional constraints. The entrance to the smaller maintenance hangar is only 40 cm wider than the diameter of the helicopter blades, while the door is only slightly higher than the helicopter’s maximum height. Precise and reliable movement was therefore essential.


"We provide helicopter services for private individuals, large companies and public authorities, operating in an extremely demanding and competitive market that requires vehicles that are always perfectly efficient and maintained according to the strictest international standards."

Claudio Girardi, Maintenance Manager at Elifriulia




SOLUTION


Following an inspection and analysis carried out with Elifriulia’s technicians, Handel Sollevamenti designed a gantry crane on steerable wheels. The structure has eight motors, with four dedicated to rotation and steering and four used to move it between hangars.


The gantry crane was equipped with a Verlinde Eurobloc VT electric wire rope hoist with a capacity of 3,200 kg. The hoist was selected for its reliability and minimal lifting speed, helping to avoid handling errors during helicopter maintenance.


The complete structure is radio controlled. A series of PLCs uses drives and encoders on the motors to provide precise steering movements, allowing operators to rotate and correctly position the gantry crane for different maintenance activities.

“The facility built by Handel Sollevamenti has met our expectations perfectly, facilitating our maintenance work to offer our customers a fleet of helicopters with the highest levels of efficiency. We also greatly appreciated Handel's expertise not only in customising the structure but also in choosing components of proven quality and reliability, of which the Verlinde hoist is an excellent example.”

Claudio Girardi, Maintenance Manager at Elifriulia

Results and Key Benefits


  • Optimized handling procedures for helicopter maintenance

  • Precise movement within the restricted dimensions of the maintenance site

  • Radio-controlled operation for easier positioning and manoeuvring

  • Reliable lifting with a capacity of 3,200 kg and minimal lifting speed

  • Certain recurring maintenance activities carried out without dismantling the engines

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