A Weightron Bilancial crane scale system is helping Virgin Atlantic Airways keep track of the loads being handled at its Heathrow maintenance hangar.
Supplied by Street CraneXpress (SCX), the crane scale assembly features a model LD rechargeable 20t capacity crane scale, a bi-directional UHF radio link, a D800 weight terminal and an audible alarm.
The crane system has been installed to monitor loads in the overhead crane system of Virgin Atlantic’s maintenance facility during the lifting of major aircraft components, such as engines, engine nose cowls and wing flap assemblies.
Weighton Virgin Atlantic
Using the remote radio link, weight data can be transmitted up to 500m with a direct line of sight connection. The LD crane scale also features a seven-section backlit LED display.
Weightron said that lifting such components requires monitoring of the pre-loaded weight at all times in order to prevent overloading the aircraft structure. As such, the D800 weight terminal features two set points that trigger the 100 dB alarm if they are exceeded. The first set point can be manually set by engineers at a level incrementally above the known weight of the load. The second acts as a maximum crane system overload warning and is set at 16t.
“It is vitally important to ensure critical lifting operations are carried out safely and effectively,” said Andy Currey, tooling and GSE manager at Virgin Atlantic.
“The Weightron system gives rapid warning to the crane operator if lifting forces exceed preset safety levels.
“The wireless radio link allows excellent operational flexibility within the expansive hangar and the system can be transferred to other locations if required.”
