We all know that you need to hang a specific apparatus, but how do you do this and how do you make sure that it is safe?
There are a lot of ifs, and, and buts to aerial rigging. Are you rigging off something that can hold your weight? Is the equipment you are using weight graded? How much weight will a generate? Who do I ask to make sure that I am rigging safely?
How much weight and force can you generate on aerial equipment? Your rigging needs to be able to hold MORE than your weight plus your apparatus times three. This will differ per person so if you have someone that weighs more you need to calculate for their weight. If you would like to do double skills your rigging needs to be able to hold much more!
What are you rigging off of?
Are you looking to rig off a tree? This seems like the easiest alternative. You don’t have to buy something to rig off because the earth has grown it for you. It looks like a big and healthy tree. It will also be really pretty! You are rigging with proper aerial equipment and your parents hung off it as hard as they could. It is definitely safe, right?
Unfortunately, the answer is usually no. Experienced aerialists refuse to rig off trees because it is so dangerous. Some will photoshop their pictures to make it look like they are rigging from a tree because it looks pretty, but they do not hang off trees themselves. The tree may look healthy on the outside, but the inside can be sick therefore making it weak. You also cannot rig off certain types of trees to make sure the wood will hold you. In order to properly rig from a tree you need to hire an arborist to inspect your tree annually! Every year it needs to be reinspected to make sure your tree is safe. You should also stress to your arborist that this tree needs to be able to hold your weight (or whoever weighs the most that will be using it) plus your apparatus times three. This is a lot of weight. It will be difficult to find a tree that will safely hold you while doing aerial. If you do not believe me you can check out more sources.
Here are some links:
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Are you looking into rigging off of a standard house ceiling? You can find a stud and that will make it safe? Unfortunately, the answer is no. This is not a safe form of rigging. There are only a few screws holding you as you flip and drop against the ceiling. If a hammer can pull screws out of a stud, aerial definitely can.
Are you looking to rig off wooden trusses? I personally do not prefer rigging off wooden trusses and refuse to do this unless the wood is thick and I can tell it is well-reinforced. I have rigged off some wooden trusses that looked like they were well-reinforced and have regretted it. It is difficult to tell if a wooden trusse is decent enough to do aerial on. The only way you can properly find out is to hire a rigger. You can find a rigger at your local labor’s union or contact us for some local riggers. Most home trusses are wooden trusses that are only meant to hold the ceiling up. They will not safely hold your weight for aerial training and should not be used unless they are reinforced and inspected by a rigger.
Are you looking to rig off a swing set? This is where we start getting a lot of ifs, ands, and buts. Professionally made swing sets are designed to hold the weight of child swinging. These can be suitable for a child to rig off of if you are using proper equipment. We will talk more about proper equipment in this post.
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Thick park swing sets are professionally designed to hold children and adults who would like to swing. These can be suitable for rigging aerial equipment. If you built a swing set yourself, it is not weight-graded and may not be suitable for aerial training. You can have a rigger inspect it to help you determine if it is suitable for aerial training, but the only way you can really tell is to weight grade it by doing a break test and remake the swingset which is a lot of work. At this point, you might as well invest in a professional aerial rig that is weight graded by a professional company.
Aerial rigs are specially made for aerial. You want to make sure you get them from an aerial-specific company like Xpole or Aerial Essentials. Amazon, Walmart, and other nonaerial-specific brands are not suitable for aerial work. Aerial-specific companies will put their weight grading on the listing. Please look at the weight-grading to make sure it meets your weight specifications. Xpole and Aerial Essentials have great beginner aerial rigs that are suitable for practicing many skills, but the rig may not support drops. Make sure you check to make sure it does if you would like to perform drops on the rig.
Are you looking to rig off metal trusses? Metal trusses are one of the best options for rigging. I would recommend hiring a rigger to inspect the trusses as rigging has a lot to do with angles, placement, spacing, etc. You need to rig over the trusses is possible. Avoid rigging off the bottom of the truss as this will pull the truss apart.
Overall I would recommend rigging off thick park swingsets, professional aerial rigs, and metal trusses. These are the safest options. You do not want to put your life on the line when you could be rigging off something better.
When you go to an aerial gym, make sure they are rigging properly. If you notice they are not rigging properly, do not do aerial at the gym. I cannot stress enough that you want to be safe because you cannot your life or mobility back in a lot of cases. Also, others who weigh more than you hanging off equipment to “make sure it won’t break” can make it more dangerous. The rigging can decide to come down if it is not properly rigged when it is your turn. Please do not take this chance on your life when there are better obtainable choices.
At The Smalltown Circus we have a professional rigger that does regular inspections on our equipment and trusses. We also regularly check the equipment for safety. We use proper weight graded equipment. If you would like to learn more about proper weight graded equipment please click the link below.