Dulles Jet Bridge

Lifting a Jet Bridge at Dulles Airport

On Wednesday May 7th, a crew traveled to Dulles Airport for the removal of a 58,000 lb. passenger jet bridge. Using a 110-ton Grove TMS9000E, the 60-foot long bridge was easily removed from the terminal and placed on our Trail King double drop deck stretch trailer. 
 
The rain held off long enough to secure the bridge to the trailer and disassemble the crane. However, the skies opened up as we were escorted across the property to place the bridge at its final location.

Thanks to all of the MWAA employees who made this lift successful. Thanks also to all of the Rent-A-Crane employees who don't mind playing in the rain.

Happy 56th Birthday RAC

Long, Lost Blog

2009 RAC Picnic at Veterans Memorial Park in Woodbridge, VA: (From left to right) Front row: Gerry Danis, Barnes FitzGerald, Dave Harding, Paul Devine - Back Row: Mike Lucas, Wayne German, Ralph Ware and Tommy Watts

Long time, no post. This picture was taken at our annual company picnic in 2009. Since that time, we have lost many of those who were and still are near and dear to us. Paul Devine was the first to leave us after we saw him at our 2011 picnic. Barnes passed away in December 2012, and his brother Jimmy died suddenly in January 2013. Three days after Christmas 2013, Tommy Watts and his wife Grace were involved in a car accident. Tommy passed away in the hospital, and Grace is at home well on the way to recovery. Unfortunately, we lost Gerry a few weeks ago, on March 28th, to a blood clot while he was recovering from pneumonia. A memorial service for Gerry will be held in Charlottsville, VA on Saturday April 26th. Click here to view his obituary. We miss you all.

Howard Barnes FitzGerald

Jimmy (left) and Barnes (right) standing in front of lucky crane #33 when it was new in 1994. 

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our long-time boss, coworker, family member and friend, Howard Barnes FitzGerald. Barnes, as he was known to friends, family and coworkers, was one of the three founding FitzGerald brothers who made their start as steel workers with Arlington Iron Works. In 1957, he headed Rent-A-Crane, Inc. as an offshoot of Arlington Iron Works, due to the demand for crane rentals in the DC Metro area. From that time, he managed Rent-A-Crane, Inc. with what many who knew him would call a quiet, brooding demeanor. He never had to yell to get his opinion across, and many respected him for his method of management that involved treating coworkers with respect and fostering an atmosphere of family amongst company employees. This was a quality that he, and his two brothers, acquired from their father, Thomas B. FitzGerald. In 1999, he passed the reigns over to his nephew, and current operating manager, William L. FitzGerald, who many know as Billy, in order to enjoy retirement with his wife, Patricia, and loving family.

From all of us at Rent-A-Crane, Inc., we will miss you Barnes.

A memorial service will be held for Barnes FitzGerald on Saturday December 15, 2012 at 2:00 pm at St. James Episcopal Church at 73 Culpeper Street, in Warrenton, VA.

Communication Tower

On Friday November 9, our 110-ton crane was sent to a cell tower site in Stafford, VA. This tower was deemed to be 4 feet too tall by the Federal Aviation Administration because of it's proximity to the nearby Stafford Regional Airport. As a result, the tower owner decided to cut the tower and reduce it's height to comply.

Due to the height of the tower, the crane needed all of the main boom, extension inserts and boom extensions to complete this job.

We worked with Genesis Tower Services from Reading, PA, who climbed the tower to make the adjustments.

Helicopter Crane

On Saturday November 8, we helped one of our customers, Colonial Webb, to stage their air conditioning units for a helicopter lift. When a lift is too large to complete with a mobile crane, a helicopter crane may be your best option. One example of this type of lift involves replacing an air conditioning unit in the middle of a mall roof, or on some other building that is too tall and wide for a mobile crane to reach.

Our crane operator and riggers unloaded the units from the truck and spread them across the parking lot to make them accessible to the helicopter.

The helicopter crane from Construction Helicopters, Inc. was called in to provide the aerial crane service, and our riggers hooked the units to the helicopter to be placed on the roof of the Nike store at Arundel Mills Mall.
  
If your company has a lift like the one described above, call us, and we can work with you and a aerial crane provider to complete your lift.
  

Hurricane Sandy

Rent-A-Crane, Inc. will be closed Monday afternoon at 3:00 pm due to Hurricane Sandy, and we will not reopen until Wednesday morning at 5:00 am. Please call Wednesday to schedule any lifting needs. The NCCCO Rigger I and Signal Person exams that were scheduled for October 30th have been rescheduled for Wednesday November 7th. 

NCCCO Rigger I and Signal Person Exams

Rent-A-Crane Training will be hosting NCCCO Rigger I and Signal Person training classes and exams in October. The deadline to submit applications is Monday October 15, 2012. For more information, contact Heather at (703) 550-7097.

2012 RAC Picnic

The annual Rent-A-Crane, Inc. picnic was held on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in September. In addition to current Rent-A-Crane, Inc. employees, we had many retired crane operators and managers come back to visit. Grill masters Joe (left), crane operator, and Tom (right), head dispatcher,   provided good food for the day. The water on the Potomac provided a beautiful backdrop for a great day.

Space Shuttle Discovery

For more than a month this spring, we had a crane posted at Dulles Airport near Chantilly, VA to prepare for the arrival of the Space Shuttle Discovery. We hoisted support equipment on site and helped to assemble the shuttle rigging device. Although this job required a lot of down time, being on site to watch this special lift was an exciting experience.

NASA uses a specially-designed rigging device to hoist the shuttle on to and off of the plane that transported it from the Kennedy Space Center. The shuttle arrived at Dulles Airport on April 17, 2012. From there, the space shuttle was transported to the Smithsonian Institute's Udvar-Hazy National Air and Space Museum in Chantilly, VA on April 19, 2012.