interesting jobs

Quartlow · August 31, 2005, 08:28:50 PM

or stupid, or really really brave. However you want to look at it.

I'm watching a show on Modern Marvels, company works on LIVE high tension lines 115,000 volts worth, from a helicopter of all things, fly right up next to it. reach out with a wand and get connected, clamp a lead on to it let the wand off and do what they have to do. Get done, wand on, clamp off wand off and fly away.

corection
345,000 volts

http://www.usaairmobile.com/

sprucebunny · August 31, 2005, 08:35:38 PM

Thanks for finding something to watch ;D

I already seen all the "Andy Griffiths" ....... more than once :

That is a pretty exciting job

pigman · August 31, 2005, 08:46:14 PM

I have been watching that show over my shoulder for the last 40 minutes.

I am glad I am watching and not doing. ;)

Phorester · August 31, 2005, 08:54:49 PM

A couple years ago I was whizzing down a road and heard a helicopter close by. Popped out to a power line crossing the road and looked up at a helicopter with a vertical gang of 6-8 circular saws hanging a hundred feet below it, each blade looked to be 18" or so diameter, side pruning the trees on the edge of the right-of-way. Looked dangerous as hell, but I'm sure it had been tested for safety. I sat and watched for a few minutes. He moved pretty slowly down the powerline, He occasionally spun off a chunk of wood that would fly a couple hundred feet away, but they all went down, never saw one go toward the chopper. Can't believe that thing didn't get hung up in the trees and pull the chopper down, but the chopper never wobbled. Wished I had a camera.

DanG · August 31, 2005, 09:25:40 PM

Phorester, I saw a pic of that thing a couple of years ago. I think it was in a magazine. Pretty neat rig, but I gotta question the wisdom behind its use. As a former helicopter pilot, and now a sawyer, it seems ultimately more practical to just cut the DanG trees down.

Haytrader · August 31, 2005, 09:42:28 PM

:

Hey Pigman,
Is that a "Screamin Eagle" I see on yer shoudler?
Looks like you have some serious intentionism by the looks of the pic.

;D

I "moved some real estate" with some C4 on occasion.

;)

Phorester · August 31, 2005, 09:46:49 PM

Haytrader, that's how they fish in Kentucky.

Haytrader · August 31, 2005, 09:58:59 PM

Phorester,

I have heard of some fishin here useing the same methods.

;D ;D ;D

pigman · August 31, 2005, 10:10:50 PM

Quote from: Haytrader on August 31, 2005, 09:42:28 PM
:

Hey Pigman,
Is that a "Screamin Eagle" I see on yer shoudler?
Looks like you have some serious intentionism by the looks of the pic.

;D

I "moved some real estate" with some C4 on occasion.

;)

We were preparing to go fishing.

Some people called it the "Screaming Eagle" . My brother in the 173 ABN called it the "punking pigeon". >:( We were after some big fish so we had a lot of bait.

ADfields · September 01, 2005, 02:43:18 AM

Good on ya Pigman 8) punking pigeon >:( !!!! Anyone hatched in the USA should be very proud of the 101st!! Show off that patch with the pride of knowing that your brother is just jellous. ;)
Andy

Jeff · September 01, 2005, 05:58:46 AM

Phorester, Whitepe caught one of those rigs working near peoria this summer. He got some footage of the rig, but not of it cutting. He sent it to me, I'll see if its something I can get on here...

Jeff · September 01, 2005, 06:20:57 AM

Jeff,
Saw this sitting in the vacant lot next to the end of my driveway last
evening / this morning. They were fueling up getting ready to go so I stopped and talked to them for a few minutes. Two guys, the pilot named Tim Roberts and the ground support / fixed wing pilot Edwin Todd who work for Aerial Solutions, Inc out of Tabor City, North Carolina. By the way. these two guys were more interested in getting a chance to watch my woodmizer run than I was in watching them.

Anyway, they were real friendly and I told them all about forestryforum.com. They were working for the local utility company trimming trees along power
lines. They are only one of two companies in the country who do this and they said that can do it for 30% less money than conventional means. Really advantageous in hard to drive to locations.

The boom is an 80 foot long boom to the power head which has a 28 horsepower remotely startable engine. It can be started from the ground truck or the helicopter. The eleven blades are each two foot diameter with carbide tips. They have made several iterations in the design of the boom and when they first started doing this a few years ago they had a pull start engine. I asked the pilot what happens if he trims a heavy branch and it falls and hangs up on the boom creating too much weight to stay in the air. He said well, if that happens you have to sit er down. He said that he has only had that happen once.

Phorester, is this what you saw?