Performer Flying Systems - TSA designs, engineers, installs, commissions and operates bespoke performer flying effects on purpose-built equipment, integrated with automation control and supported by trained operators
A performer in the air, held safely.
TSA designs, engineers, installs, commissions and operates bespoke performer flying effects. Every effect is engineered to your show on purpose-built equipment - integrated with the automation control and the trained operators that keep the move repeatable and safe.
Every effect
a blank canvas.
No two flying effects are ever the same, so we start each one from a blank canvas and engineer it to your show, your cue sheet and your creative vision. From the first conversation through to operating the show, the same team carries the design.
Designed to your show
We work through the vision, the budget and the cue sheet, then engineer the flying effect to your production rather than configuring it from a fixed template.
Installed and commissioned
We supply, install and safety-commission the system, then train your cast and crew on the moves, the limits and the emergency procedures before you open.
Operated and supported
Show operation runs with specialised TSA crew, or with your own crew once we have handed off. After the run, we dismantle the system and wrap up the engagement.
An effect,
not a product.
Performer flying is a service, not something pulled off the shelf. TSA designs, supplies, installs, commissions and supports the flying system end to end, and the effect is engineered to your show rather than configured from a catalogue. A failure here is not a rigging incident, it is a person in the air, so the engineering and the operation matter as much as the hardware.
It runs on equipment purpose-built for flying - not adapted from stage, industrial or climbing gear - with custom harnesses refined over years and control integrated with the show automation. The lifting hardware behind the service is the Hercules Performer, a TSA-manufactured electric drum hoist rated for lifting people - dual brakes, dual encoders, multiple limit switches and overwrap protection. Our chain hoists lift scenery and truss, never performers. Performer flying is one part of Production Engineering.
Not every show calls for automation. We also supply manually operated flying systems for smaller-scale productions - the Mary Poppins and Peter Pan end of the scale - engineered and commissioned to the same standard.
- Effect engineered to the show
- Cue sheet and flight paths
- Tailored performer harnesses
- Equipment made for flying
- Hercules Performer hoist
- Not adapted gear
- Anti-sway flight control
- 3D flight-path moves
- Repeatable, every show
- Double-braked winches
- Manual / battery brake release
- Live load monitoring
Every engagement, both contexts. The same four disciplines apply whether the system is engineered into a venue - Australian Outback Spectacular runs five performer flying rigs this way - or travels with a production for the season.
Four reasons to call us.
From vision
to wrap.
A documented engagement that carries one flying effect from the first conversation through to the final show - design, install, operate, support. The same team holds the thread the whole way, so nothing is handed across a gap.
Enquiry and vision
We work through the effect you want, the requirements and the budget, and what the moment needs to do for the audience.
The lifting hardware behind the service is the Hercules Performer, a TSA-manufactured electric drum hoist rated for lifting people. Performer flying is one part of Production Engineering - production management, technical design and drafting, automation and custom fabrication all sit alongside it.
Performers
in the air.
Flying effects engineered, installed and run on permanent venues and travelling productions around Australia.
See all projects
4,000 shows. Zero missed cues.
Five performer flying rigs and the full automation system, in service seven-plus years at Australian Outback Spectacular.
Read the project
36 hoists, one ceiling, one desk.
A 36-axis hoist array and five-chord box truss - the load-monitored, double-braked control that flying is built on.
Read the project
Flying built on show automation.
Variable-speed, load-monitored control with anti-sway and 3D flight paths - flying that flies the same way every show.
How motion control worksPerformer flying, wire by wire.
Scroll through the rig - harness to wire, winch to console, right through to the first test flight.
Harness to wire, checked twice
Terminating the flying wire
Flying winch built for Cats
First flight in the test rig
Power on, backstage
Rated webbing, sorted and logged
Console in at The StarQuestions
about performer flying.
If your question isn't here, talk to our team and we'll come back with the right answer for your show.
Call 1300 439 872 →Tell us the
effect you want.
Send the show, the dates and the flying moment you have in mind. We'll engineer the effect to your production - designed, installed, commissioned and operated, with the safety and rescue built in.