A Liebherr mobile crane has been used to erect a giant statue of Pegasus in the United States.
The 400-tonne capacity LTM 1400-7.1, which was operated by US lifting specialist Allegiance Crane, was praised for its performance at the site, cutting the statue’s erection time by around half.
The 33m-tall, 63m-long ‘Pegasus and Dragon’ – situated at Florida’s Gulfstream Park – has become the largest bronze horse statue in the world.
“[The Allegiance Crane team was] extremely professional on the site,” commented Michael Stark, owner of Stark Ingenieure, the firm tasked with the technical design and erection of the statue.
“We worked extremely well and closely with each other, and the crane produced an absolutely amazing performance.
“It has a compact design and has excellent setup processes, coupled with enormous load capacities, which meant we didn’t even have to move it between the various hoists. This saved us around half the time, which was very important to us,” he explained.
The LTM 1400-7.1 was equipped with Y-guying and full ballast for the job. Setup was completed entirely through self-assembly.
The left wing of the Pegasus statue was the heaviest single component lifted, weighting in at a staggering 58 tonnes. Even so, the wing was able to be moved at a radius of 22.3m due to the LTM 1400-7.1’s 400-tonne capacity.
Commenting on the assistance that Stark Ingeniuere received from the equipment manufacturer, Stark said: “The fantastic support from Liebherr in advance enabled us to plan all the hoists precisely. The service was really great.
‘Pegasus and Dragon’ was commissioned to complement Gulfstream Park’s horse-racing track, which was built in 1939. Ultimately, the statue will form part of a new theme park, scheduled for completion in summer of this year.
