A LIFTING APPARATUS AND A METHOD FOR LIFTING A LONGITUDINAL BENDABLE STRUCTURE SUCH AS A WIND TURBINE BLADE

A lifting apparatus (10) for lifting a longitudinal bendable structure such as a wind tur- bine blade, the lifting apparatus (10) comprises - a longitudinal beam (12) comprising one or more sections and one or more rigging elements (14); 5 - a plurality of attachment units (20) positioned along the longitudinal beam (12); the attachment units (20) comprise - a vacuum gripper (22) for gripping a part of a longitudinal structure; - a displaceable arm (24) connected to the vacuum gripper (22), the displaceable arm (24) being linear displaceable between a retracted position and an ex-10 tended position; - a power transmission unit (26) configured to displacing the displaceable arm (24) between the retracted position and the extended position; - a global power transmission system in fluid communication with the power transmission units (26), the global power transmission system being configured for balancing 15 the power transmission units (26).