Helicopter assembly of a tower crane in Switzerland   

Recently a Liebherr 30 LC tower crane was assembled by helicopter at an altitude of 3,000m on the Swiss Piz Corvatsch. The crane is being used for restoration and reconstruction work at the summit station of the Corvatsch railway which has been around for 44 years.

For the work at the Corvatsch summit station, the Liebherr 30 LC tower crane was assembled on a mobile undercarriage with 3m tracks on a railway line and a 12m tower base section. The crane achieved an under-hook height of 11.2m and a radius of 24.7m on this site. In order to ensure structural stability whilst not in operation, the 30 LC was guyed for wind speeds of up to 200km/h.

The K-Max heavy-duty helicopter used for the assembly can lift loads of up to 2,700kg, and then safely and smoothly transport them to their destination. Since its individual component assemblies weigh a maximum of 1,700kg, the 30 LC is optimally suited to these special assembly conditions.

Thanks to the team's precise logistics planning and the pilot’s perfect flying, the Liebherr 30 LC tower crane was fully assembled in around four hours. A total of 28 helicopter trips were required to collect all of the individual parts, including ballast and counterweights. The helicopter had to make five trips from the valley station because the individual parts were too big to take to the intermediate station by rail.