Find Your Rigging Solution with IA Stage

Do you have limited space, a tight budget, a small staff, or just want to increase the safety and versatility of your workspace? IA Stage’s SkyAscend™, the original self-climbing truss system, could be the rigging solution that you’re looking for.

What is self-climbing truss system? It means that the entire rig – the truss, the motors, the raceways, and the associated cables – all come down to you at floor level. When you’re ready to send everything back up, it all goes back up together just like it came down – with the push of a button.

More About the SkyAscend™ Self-climbing Hoist

Manufactured in our Central Florida facility, each unit is equipped with a pantograph feeder system that elegantly manages power and data cables. The four-compartment extrusion accommodates motor control, DMX, NET, and up to 24 circuits at 20 amps. All machinery and the connector strip are housed inside the truss, so the entire rig stores much closer to the ceiling than standard truss systems do.

SkyAscend™ is perfect for big rooms with high ceilings like arenas, gymnasiums, auditoriums, and churches. It’s ideal for spaces where you don’t want to add steel or make major modifications to the existing overhead structure.

Live load capacities range from 800LBS to 1500LBS. Cable drums are CNC helically grooved in a twin-helix pattern, which keeps the truss centered and prevents it from walking side-to-side while in motion, further protecting delicate equipment and architecture.

The SkyAscend™ line is built with conical truss, which has a few advantages over plated box truss in this application. First, plated box truss actually creates obstructions – you can’t hang instruments on the weld between spliced sections. Second, conical truss is self-aligning. In other words, it’s relatively easy to put together even when you’re on an uneven floor. Third, you know that dance moving lights do each time they’re powered up? Conical truss has more cross members through the center of the truss, so you can hang more movers without causing collisions. Conical truss is also stronger than plated box and flexes less. Ergo, SkyAscend™ can span large distances with practically no deflection, provide rigid support for your movers, and it looks great.

SkyAscend™ comes in a variety of standard sizes, but custom variations of length (and curves!) are our specialty.

Chandelier Hoists at Round Top Festival Institute

What if your rigging solution doesn’t entail bringing the entire rig down to floor level? Say you want to bring a chandelier down for maintenance – just the chandelier, nothing else. That’s what the beautiful Round Top Festival Institute in Round Top, Texas, needed for their concert hall.  The concert hall is a wonderland of intricate woodworking from floor to ceiling. The ceiling features four custom made cast aluminum chandeliers, each weighing 580 pounds, supported by a wooden framework. The light fixtures are raised and lowered by four IA Stage line shaft hoists. Like SkyAscend™, Festival Hill’s hoists utilize pantographs for cable management, but they are not self-climbers. The motors and power supply are permanently housed above the ceiling, where they can’t distract from the details of the space. Take a few minutes to learn about the history of this stunning venue.

Self-climbing Chandelier Hoist at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino

Can you combine standard hoists with SkyAscend™? Yes, you can. The rigging solution for the Aura Club at the Seminole’s Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, features a self-climbing circular chandelier hoist that’s set inside a ring-shaped lighting truss. Picture a donut hole inside a donut kind of situation. You can see in the photo that the 16’6” outer ring of truss – the donut, if you will – moves independently of the center section. The outer ring, used to hang dance lighting, is managed by a line shaft hoist with a pantograph feeder system to manage the cables. The 10’ center section – the donut hole – holds the chandelier, which is shown in the down position/at low trim for maintenance. It is a self-climbing circular truss with framing made to carry a cable basket for cable management.

All IA Stage hoists are ANSI-E1.6-1 compliant. Complete your system with our UL 508A controls.