Referring to the rigger reference booklet, what would be the rated capacity of a 1-1/8 inch wire rope EIPS/IWRC mechanical splice two leg sling lifting at a 45 degree angle?

• A. 28,000 pounds
• B. 40,000 pounds
• C. 31,000 pounds
• D. 34,000 pounds

Answer: (D)

When you lift with a two-leg sling, each leg shares the load, and the angle between the legs from vertical changes how much load the sling can actually take. For a 1-1/8 inch wire rope with EIPS/IWRC and a mechanical splice, the working load limit per leg is about 24,000 pounds. At a 45-degree lift, the vertical support comes from both legs, but each leg must pull a bit harder to keep the load steady because the tension in each leg is W/(2 cos θ). Rewriting that, the total rated capacity becomes roughly W ≈ 2 × (per-leg WLL) × cos 45°. With cos 45° ≈ 0.707, that gives W ≈ 2 × 24,000 × 0.707 ≈ 34,000 pounds. So the rated capacity at a 45-degree angle for this setup is about 34,000 pounds, which is why that option is correct. At vertical (0 degrees) the capacity would be higher, and at larger angles it would drop further.