A Modulift MOD 12 spreader beam has been used to lift a Douglas DC-6 military aircraft as part of its relocation from Coventry to South Wales, UK.
Kyles Transport coordinated the relocation of the military aircraft, which was used towards the end of World War II, to the South Wales Aviation Museum where it now resides.
The task at hand involved transporting the cockpit section and main body of the aircraft. The plane measured 11 m in length, with a width and height of 2.3 m and 3.6 m respectively. To facilitate the lift, the MOD 12 spreader beam was used with a PM65 lorry loader crane, mounted to a DAF XF lorry. Slings and shackles were attached to the beam to ensure the safe lifting of the aircraft.
Kyle Hourihane, managing director at Kyles Transport, said: “Modulift’s below-the-hook products are our go-to pieces of equipment for lifting. In this case, the MOD 12 was used at a 4 m span to allow us to lift the fuselage at its correct pick points along the aircraft.”
Built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958, the aircraft was reworked after the war to be used in the commercial aviation market. The fuselage will join a collection of static aviation pieces and potentially undergo restoration to its full-size DC-6 aircraft form.
