Trapeze Height Calculator

This calculator sizes the vertical and overhead clearance a flying trapeze rig needs by treating the performer-and-bar as a simple pendulum. The pivot-to-feet distance is rope length plus performer height, and the calculator correctly identifies that this distance is at its maximum — the deepest point below the pivot — when the pendulum hangs straight down at rest, not at the extremes of the swing arc, since a pendulum swinging out to the side always sits vertically closer to the pivot than it does at the bottom. So the minimum rigging height is built from that straight-hanging depth, plus your net height above the floor, plus a safety clearance buffer you set. Minimum ceiling height simply adds a flat 1.5 metres on top of that for rigging hardware overhead — a fixed allowance, not something derived from your specific hardware.

Horizontal sweep, how far the bar travels side to side, comes from basic pendulum geometry: twice the effective length (rope plus performer) times the sine of the maximum swing angle. Speed and G-force at the bottom of the swing use energy conservation: the pendulum's rise in height at maximum angle converts into kinetic energy at the bottom, giving speed via v = sqrt(2 x g x h), and the G-force felt at the bottom is 1 plus the centripetal term v-squared over (g times effective length) — the same physics that makes a playground swing feel heaviest at the bottom of its arc. Because this model treats the performer as a rigid extension of the rope with no separate joint or grip flexibility, it's a solid first-pass clearance estimate but not a substitute for an actual rigging inspection — always build in more margin than the bare geometric minimum for anything performers will be swinging on.