The Word
The term "Trapeze" is originally French word taken from the Latin "trapezium."
This comes from the Greek word "trapezion" literally meaning "a small table." The derivation came to describe a quadrilateral
which happens to be the shape formed by the crane bar, trapeze bar and the two supporting lines. The term "trapezoid" also
describes the same quadrilateral having only two sides parallel.
The general definition for a Trapeze is "a gymnastic or acrobatic apparatus
consisting of a short horizontal bar suspended by two parallel ropes"
The Invention
In the summer of 1859, a young Frenchman named Jules Leotard grew bored
in his father's gymnasium. He decided to connect a bar to some ventilator cords above the swimming pool and in doing so, created
the world's first "flying trapeze"! He became so adept performing tricks into the pool with his new invention, he ended up
performing his act in the Cirque Napoleon (now known as the Cirque D'Hiver). In the years of the young Mr. Leotard's performance,
the trapeze didn't have the safety net as is typically seen today. He would perform over a series of mattresses on a raised
runway to give the audience a better view of his tricks or "passes."
Since that day numerous improvements have occurred including adding the
net, adding the second trapeze bar for the catcher and changes in the geometry of the rig among other things.
The Apparatus
The upright supports of the average flying trapeze rig suspend the cross
bars or "crane bars" about 32 feet off the ground. To get a better idea of how high this is ... just think of looking out
a window on the fourth floor of a building. The net is about 8 feet off the ground to provide plenty of room to cradle the
flyers when they drop.
Hanging about 16 feet above the net is the "pedestal" or platform the
flyers take off from. It's typically just called the "board" as it's little more than a 1 foot by 5 foot wide support. To
gain more height, many flyers will take off from a "riser" or "raise." The raise is just a small square metal bar that is
placed at various spots on the ladder supports of the pedestal. This gives the flyers more height, time, and speed for their
swing.
The actual flying trapeze or "fly bar" is hung from another crane bar
about 15 feet from the board. Most fly bars are made from solid cold rolled 1" steel and are about 3 feet long. They are hung
on about 12' lines but these frequently vary as much as a foot depending on the performers.
Stretched out another 25 feet from fly bar is the smaller bar the catcher
hangs from called the "catch trap." This special bar with pads to protect the catcher's legs is hung on 8 foot lines.
The net is guyed out at the ends using pulleys or winches. The center of the net has ropes
called "spreaders" which stretch the net out to provide a sweet spot to catch most of the tricks. These provide better support
to decelerate the landing. There are sections of the net that extend up at the ends called the "aprons." These are to keep
you from flying out of the net if you were to miss a catch or slip out of the catcher's hands at the bottom of the swing.
