Leavitt Engineering has a niche for designing unique and unusual structures. This
talent was employed to create a rappel tower and an inclined wall used by
the United States military for training purposes.
The rappel tower was constructed with a concentrically braced steel frame
with a central stair tower, providing access to the four training levels.
Our responsibilities included structural design, construction
specifications, engineering drawings, and shop fabrication and erection
drawings. The tower was designed for worst-case wind and seismic loads so
that the structure can be built at multiple locations throughout the United
States without additional analysis.
The tower constructed for the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico
included two sides designed for rappelling; one side designed with a fast
rope assembly which simulates descending from a helicopter. The fourth
side was designed for wall climbing.
Leavitt Engineering has also designed a rappel tower and
inclined wall for the Fort Richardson military base located in Anchorage,
Alaska. The Fort Richardson structure includes design criteria intended to
meet the requirements for cold weather engineering practices. The inclined
wall structure includes a stair tower attached to a 40-foot long inclined
wall with a 45-degree slope used for rappel training.
Similar structures are currently being planned for military and emergency
services training facilities in Atlanta, Georgia; Honolulu, Hawaii; and
throughout the United States.
