Originally designed for the P229 Shooting Star Aircraft, the A-7 Portable Tripod Engine Hoist, as she is named, stands at a massive 25-30ft tall (depending on the boom angle). She was manufactured by The General Bronze Corporation of New York and has a serial number of 48. This incredibly rare piece of WWII Aviation History was originally tasked with removing aircraft props and engines for the Army Air Corps, where there were otherwise no adequate facilities available to do so. The massive hand crank at the base of the crane and the connected gear box allowed a soldier to lift up to 10,000lbs by wrenching the handle.
 
Designed to be portable, this aircraft engine crane was made to be assembled, disassembled, and transported by human power alone. The Army Air Corps Technical Service Order (basically the instruction manual; and I’ve only been able to find two pages of it) stated that this required a minimum of three soldiers to successfully complete.
 
Made of Chrome Moly Steel, she is incredibly agile and “lightweight”, but still very strong at the same time. Despite this “light” weight, she still weighs close to 1500lbs. As for Serial #48, we know nothing of her WWII era life, except that she was originally Army Green (and even that took some detective work). Whether the Army Air Corps kept records of where each crane went and/or whether each saw active military service is a mystery. The United States Air Force may have this information, but it has been impossible to ascertain at this time.
 
Now, it has found its forever home in the personal collection of an exceptional Rustic Factory client.