The madness that is the Helicopter Saw

[GW]

 Helicopter saw

[Daren]

Pretty crazy stuff. Bouncing that saw off trees and the ground hanging in between the lines, the whole time hovering feet above them. You don't get too many OOPS in that job I bet  .

[beenthere]

GW
This wild trimming method was in a thread a couple year back, under

Interesting Jobs

Appears to work pretty good, given the apparent risks.  Nicer view than mining coal under a mountain.

[DanG]

Probably not as risky as it appears, as long as there is room to set the bird down between the trees and the lines.  Choppers are pretty forgiving of the jerky motion of the saw.  The rotor system is one big gyroscope, which tends to stabilize itself, and the aircraft is suspended under that.  Like BT said, it beats the heck out of coal mining, and that thing could trim a couple of dozen trees while a climber is putting his hooks on. ;)

[gary]

Shortly after a helicopter tangled with a set of power lines and lost I saw the results. It was not pretty.

[DanG]

No, that is never pretty, Gary.  The pilot has a vested interest in keeping the aircraft out of the powerlines.  The trees can kill ya just as dead, though.  I'm sure that guy's insurance man isn't very happy with him.  All the same, pilots don't generally hit things if they know they are there.  Helicopters are much more controllable in catastrophic failure situations than most people know.  There are very few situations that are not recoverable, at least to the point of survivability, assuming the pilot has mastered his task and reacts accordingly.  If that guy's engine failed, he would have about 3 to 5 seconds before ground contact, and several things must be done during that time.  That doesn't leave much cogitation time, but it can be done.  A fixed wing plane flying at that altitude over a forest would have almost no chance of surviving an engine failure.

[gary]

This one was checking for downed power lines. And flying right above them. Don't know what you call them but the part that sits on the ground hooked on a line. I was watching them when it happened. It took me 30 minutes to walk the quarter mile  to them through 3 feet of snow. 

[olyman]

and the story goes--that the guy that originally built this--was killed in a crash--and two guys bought that heli--and the saw--and the rights to it--from his widow-----i read the story on it--but im glad they are flying it--sheesh

[Woodwalker]

More Helicopter work,
http://www.glumbert.com/media/highpower
Pays good too.

[DanG]

Gary, I was speaking(typing) with the assumption that the pilot isn't an idiot.  There's a powerline right behind my house, and they fly it once a month or so.  They're at least 200 feet above it, and I don't see how they can get an effective look at it from that low, since they're doing about 80 knots.  I ain't sure what they're looking for, anyway. ???  To get close enough to hook a skid on a powerline is a capitol offense.

It really hurt's the male chauvinist pig in me to say this, but testosterone is one of the biggest killers in rotary wing flying.  When the adrenalin is flowing, there is a tendency to try and see how close you can get without actually touching.  Sometimes we miss. :-\

[Mr Mom]

Why or what is that guy doing on power line??
I have seen shows of guys doing the same thing but they were still hooked to the chopper.
Thanks Alot Mr Mom

[Haytrader]

Hey Dan,

If I was to pop smoke, would ya come pick me up?

[DanG]

Long as you ain't under a powerline. :D :D :D

[Texas Ranger]

Woodwalker, nuh uh, pay ain't never gonna be good enough.

[Phorester]

WOODWALKER, I've been thinking about what I will do after retirement.  This dang sure won't be it.  ;D

[scsmith42]

Woodwalker -that was a fascinating video - thanks for sharing.

Scott

[sawguy21]

  Helicopters are much more controllable in catastrophic failure situations than most people know.

As long as he has enough altitude and air speed. This guy MIGHT recover if he can punch off the long line quickly enough but in that position, the chances are slim.

[DanG]

Well, I haven't been able to see the film with my slow connection, so I'm just guessing at the type of aircraft and the altitude at which he might be operating.  I assume the aircraft is of pretty good size, and the altitude is probably 150-200 feet.  He would be operating at a hover, rather than flying with translational lift, so a hovering autorotation would be his emergency procedure.  However, if he is very quick, he may be able to gain translation and thereby set the aircraft down more gently.  My thinking is, he is going to bend something, so survival is his main goal.  As far as pickling the load, that is just a touch of the pinkie finger, and is instantaneous.  Now, assuming a sudden, total loss of power, he would pickle the load, reduce pitch, apply right pedal, then nose the aircraft forward to gain whatever airspeed he could, then nose the ship up and pull max pitch to cushion the landing, simultaneously applying left pedal with that last bit to keep the aircraft aligned with it's forward progress.  In the midst of all that, if he has the inclination and the presence of mind, he might wish to mutter a few words to The Heavenly Father.  A landing like that is quite survivable, but there are likely to be broken bones.

[Dale Hatfield]

My students and i spent the day with a chopper trimming crew. Great people and answered all of our questions. Seams that if ya want a job right now a chopper pilot is a good option. Most of Vet pilots are hanging it up and playing on the ground these days. The pilots of the crew we talked with have an easy time work 30 days and have 30 off. and still make more than 2 school teachers.
When ya get right down to it they really arent that close to the lines. It was pretty windy the day we spent with them and they would fly  so that wind was blowing into the trees and not wires. They have 2 quick release systems inside the chopper to ditch the saw blades.
Dale

[Haytrader]

Dan,

It looks to me to be the same bird we called a LOCH in Nam. (Hiwaya 5  0)  ;D

Wish you could see the video cause the pilot is either rocking the chopper front to back or he is being jerked around.

[DanG]

OUCH!  I wooden'a thought they'd be using something that small!

[scsmith42]

The chopper looks like a Hughs 500 to me...

[DanG]

The "Loch" or OH6 the Army used is the same as the Hughes 500.  It uses a small, high speed rotor system, which gives it that jerky, unstable look...everything happens very quickly.  It isn't what I would choose for that job, but it is relatively inexpensive to buy and to operate.  It isn't noted for holding up real well to a hard landing.

[sawguy21]

Interestingly enough, the eggshell shape was chosen to improve the chances of survival in a crash. In Viet Nam, choppers were not expected to last more than 200 hours before being shot down or 'impacting with terrain'. The 500 is a very good utility aircraft and popular for longlining.

[Phorester]

Glad I didn't know about that 200 hour life expectancy.