Heron Project looking for an engineer stamp

[Lujak]

We are building an ariel rig based on a crane, but but cooler looking. The problem is not so much the Playa but we hope to use it after and the groups of aerialists we know have all said they want to use it but cant get it permitted at most of the events they do without an engineers stamp. The one non-burner engineer we tentatively approached said "Imeven not even going to look at it".
So...
Dose anyone know a burner friendly engineer? Any idea the cost of such a venture?
It is basically a 35' hinged, cantilevered crane that will fold almost to the ground for rigging and raise to full hight pulling a performer with it.

thank you all in advance
Lujak
The Heron Project

[Dork]

Very cool, but one warning - people WILL try to climb it. If they succeed, more will join them.

[sacred trash]

we are using a burner/habitat for humanity engineer for basura sagrada (the temple) and he might be able to do some work for you. does your project have a budget for this or are you looking for pro-bono work?

please contact me with a PM
-tuktuk

[Dustdevil]

When an engineer puts his stamp on a drawing he is saying "this device will perform in a given manner if all the parameters of this drawing are followed." He is in a way taking some responsibility. If the device is not constructed as per the plans, his "out" is obvious if something does not peform as planned and someone gets hurt. It is for that reason that engineers charge a great deal of money for the stamp. They must take the time and crunch the numbers. I had to have a stamp on the drawings for the large flame effects on Crude Awakening. It was very expensive and I know he cut me a lot of slack. The upside was three-fold, 1) BM allowed us to construct the unit 2) It worked the way it was intended. 3) We felt comfortable NOT doing a pretest of the device. The cost was really in the details. He actually specced out the welding rod we used for the construction. I feel it was worth every cent.

[Lujak]

Thank you guys for the input. We are still crunching stuff up and hope to find a local engineer, but the info has been super helpful in wrapping our pointy heads around this whole issue.
Thanks again,
Lujak

[SandMan]

Structural Design using steel tubing and pipes. How are you going to attach it to the ground without it turning over? Dust devil has it right, when an engineer puts a stamp on a project he/she is saying that the structure has been designed using the appropriate standards and codes and it will be safe. They have to do a lot of calculations to prove that the design is safe. It is a big responsibility to do the design right. I am a licensed practicing engineer but I do not specialize in this type of design work. Since the project is in Nevada, you will need to find a Nevada Licensed Civil/Structural Engineer to do the design work for burning man. If you take this project to other states, then you will need engineers from those states to review and stamp your drawings and calculations. Additionally, since the project is unique, you will need to find a creative one who want to take on a challenge. I have some contacts in the Reno Area, drop me a line if you are interested and I will try to get you a referral. You should expect to pay the engineer appropriately for his time. Good luck with your interesting project.

SandMan

[mdmf007]

Building a one off design is no problem, your design looks good and using good materials and construction practice it will undoubtedly perform as intended.

The problem is proving it. Structural analysis has to be done on every joint and member. Just the math required after you set up your tables of formulas to go through takes a massive amount of time. There are plenty of engineers out there, and I am sure theres one willing to do it on the DL, so keep looking and good luck.