Three J D Neuhaus air operated hoists have been utilised in the construction of the world’s largest observation wheel.
The huge structure is located in the heart of Las Vegas at The Linq: Caesars Entertainment’s $550m outdoor retail, dining and entertainment district.
The wheel, which tops out at a height of 550ft, provides impressive daytime and night time views of the resort.
The hoists were located at a temporary chain fall platform suspended below the wheel’s central hub. 280ft of cable fall was used to lift equipment from the ground level. The lifts included 18 temporary radial struts, each weighing 40 tons, and 112 cable-locking assemblies configured at 50% tension loads.
The temporary radius struts were installed to assist with the accurate spacing of individual wheel-rim segments from the central hub unit during the initial build assembly. These struts were then replaced by the cable-locking assemblies, which when fully tensioned, provided the radial spokes of the completed wheel assembly.
The giant observation wheel, known as the Las Vegas High Roller, comprises 28 viewing cabins with a total 1,120 passenger capacity. At 550ft, the structure is taller than other famous wheels, including the 541ft Singapore Flyer and the 443ft London Eye.
The Las Vegas Flyer’s structure incorporates 3,500,000lb of steel, and features tensioned cables with a combined length of 25,256ft. When in motion, the wheel travels at one foot per second, meaning that each revolution takes approximately 30 minutes to complete.
