Steel trusses over a live retail centre
Nine roof trusses set over a trading shopping centre between closing time and the morning delivery run.
PA-2519 · Maroochydore, Sunshine Coast · 2024-05-19

The constraint
Why this lift needed a helicopter
The only crane pad was 240 bays of trading carpark, closed for four days.
Trusses had to travel over an occupied tenancy roof with no ground path beneath.
Centre management allowed a single overnight window with the car park empty by 21:00.
The lift
How it was flown
- Load weight
- 640 kg
- Aircraft
- AS350
- Line length
- 50 m
- Crew
- 7
- Exclusion zone
- 70 m
- Lift cycles
- 9
- Trusses were pre-assembled and staged on a vacant lot 900 m from the site.
- Each pick was flown to a fixed approach line agreed with the centre, clear of the tenancy footprint.
- Steel crews bolted off in pairs so the aircraft never held a load in hover longer than 90 seconds.
- Site handed back before the 05:00 delivery run.
The numbers
Time, cost and disruption
- Helicopter time on site
- 2.1 hrs
- Flight time
- 1.3 hrs
- Crane alternative
- 4 days · $62,000 + carpark closure
- Road closures
- 0
On site
Photos
Also filed
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