Aerial Guidelines

We get calls everyday from studios and excited people who want to take their adventure to a new level with aerial yoga, aerial dance, and Circus Arts. Here are a few tips we offer to those who are beginning aerial yoga or to those who have been doing aerial dance or circus arts for many years.

First: it is very important to learn if the structure you plan to be attached to can support not only your weight, but also your weight when it is in motion. When you are in motion, you are 3 to 5 times your body weight. For human or acrobatic rigging, you want a safety factor of 10. The standard is to use 200 pounds multiplied by 10 which means you need your structure and attachment point to support a 2,000 pound dynamic load.

If you have people who weigh more than 200 pounds, or there will be 2 people supported in the hammock or on the aerial equipment (trapeze, hoop, duo silks, duo hammock), then you want the attachment and structure to support a dynamic load of 3,000 pounds. This means that a 300 pound person or 2 people with a combined weight of 300 pounds could be supported when in motion. This number can change depending on what you are doing and what weight you are planning to put into motion in the air. For arena rigging, or OSHA guidelines you will find that the requirement is 5,000 pounds of dynamic load.

A dynamic load is one that is, or will move, versus a static load that does not move.

Please check with your local structural engineer if you have ANY doubts about your structure BEFORE you hang your aerial silks, aerial hoop, lyra, rope, corde de lisse, straps, or trapeze! Also, please let us know if you find a good structural engineer in your area so we can let others know who has helped you to stay safe!