Aerial Power Saws (Incl pictures & video)

[Nipper]

Hi One and All

I'm chasing further information on the use of aerial power saws underslung from helicopters for prunning trees around powerlines.

Any threads or photo's would be useful.

Thanks

Nipper

[Steve76]

Ssurf some websites from BC/ Vancouver area. There are operators there that do this work.

[vaqueroaero]

Take a look at: www.helitour.fi
Phone 358 9 3745100
Fax 358 9 3873887
They are based in Finland.

[Steve76]

Good fun until you slip.....:}








Post by Dave Jackson deleted in error.
Dave's link - Tree-felling in BC (http://www.flying-platform.com/index.html) :)

Heliport

[Nipper]

Thanks for the information, it should make trimming the hedge at home more fun.

[rotorboy]

There are a couple of companys the one in Canada, A few in europe , proably the biggest is one in the US called Aerial solutions, based in Willmington NC. They operate 5 h500's and rumors of getting a lama. They own the patent on the aerial saw in the US. Owners name is William Cox.

Neat to watch 11 2 foot baldes hanging on a pole... wild stuff

RB

[Heliport]

From the Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Pilot operates Aerial Saw, helicopter simultaneously

This is one helicopter that really is a chopper.
Dangling 90 feet below this McDonnell Douglas 500's whirling rotor blades, attached to it by a flexible metal pipe, is a caged engine driving 11 whirring rotary blades, a giant flying tree trimmer. They call it the Aerial Saw.

It's a weapon of mass destruction in the battle against trees that encroach on power lines, pipelines, railroads and other rights of way. Right now, two such saws are working along Allegheny Power transmission lines in Westmoreland County and West Virginia, each chopping in one hour what it would take ground crews a day or more to clear.

SSSSSHHHHZING! The saw's 2-foot-diameter blades shave off 22-foot-deep slices of the tree line's edge as if it's broccoli, the first pass shearing off the tops, the second reaching almost to the ground.


http://www.post-gazette.com/images2/20040801rrcopter72604c_450.jpg
Pilot Jeff Pigott trims the tree line along power lines in Greensburg with the Aerial Saw


Alone inside the helicopter's bubble, the pilot sticks his helmeted head out the window as he flies the craft and operates the saw, which he must very carefully lift over the 138 kilovolt lines: Just touching one would fry the whole contraption.

As dangerous as it looks, the saw, he said, is safe in the hands of the company's highly trained pilots, who can start and stop the blades and, if need be, immediately detach the entire 750-pound saw from the helicopter. Some pilots are so precise they can cut boundary-marking ribbons in two. "It's pretty intense."

The chopper pauses every hour to refuel and to give the pilot a break. Watching the saw land is as amazing as watching it work. The pilot buzzed in low over the trees and planted the tip of the saw at the marker, then quickly dropped the chopper backward to the ground, laying the saw out in front.

The job of flying lumberjack is an adrenaline buzz, pilot Jeff Pigott said. "I have a blast," said the lanky Pigott, 40, who lives in Gettysburg, Adams County. But running the saw and the helicopter at the same time isn't as harrowing as it looks, he said.
"You have to learn to not fly the helicopter," but, rather, focus on the saw. Understand if he doesn't always wave back to the kids who wave at him. "It usually draws a crowd," he said with a "Top Gun" grin.

http://www.post-gazette.com/images2/20040801rrcopter72604a_450.jpg

[[email protected]]

This must be his day job when he's not trying to cut James Bond's BMW in half!

[ShyTorque]

Don't mention engine failure - it's a saw point.... :ooh:

[crop duster]

Several years ago the guy that invented (co-inventer) lost his life doing an airshow in a friend's AT-6 Texan at Lafayette, La. The saw had been doing very well, financially, and he had started racing his own T-6 at the Reno air races. I think his name was Joe Hartung but I'm guessing at spelling. The mechanic that built Joes T-6 is a friend of mine and I met him at the shop shortly before his accident. He was a nice guy.

[evod]

Do you think it has wire cutters fitted?.....its sawinspiring stuff!

What happens when the saw hits a good chunk of tree that it can cut? Does it jam or kick like a chainsaw or does a clutch mechanism cut in? Sorry if its a dumb a*ss question.
:hmm:

[Bellthorpe]

"Alone inside the helicopter's bubble, the pilot sticks his helmeted head out the window as he flies the craft and operates the saw, which he must very carefully lift over the 138 kilovolt lines: Just touching one would fry the whole contraption. "

How so? There is no earth (ground) path.

[sss]

does he do private gardens and hedges on the side?

[ppheli]

sss, yes, I was wondering that too. Couldn't imagine him doing hedges on the top, though.... :D

[Aser]

Crab,
You are talking about this one...
http://www.rotaryaction.com/images/worldisnote.jpg


Regards.

[sprocket]

Maybe Lu could explain the gyroscopic properties of this baby?

[Dynamic Component]

Does anyone out there have any info on aerial saws?
Who makes them?
How do they fly straight on a longline?
What are they used for?(not including 007 movies:} )

I am very interested after seeing the pictures on PPRUNE:E

[ATN]

DC,

I once watched a doc on Planet. It was in Canada and they used the saw to trim the trees which would have otherwise touched the powerlines. If I remember correctly the power was not cut off and the guy had to work very close to the line using vertical references. The saw is powered by a thermal engine started by ground crew. The stability in flight is no problem cause the thing seems to be very heavy and not bulky, also the airspeed is very low.

Cheers

[tecpilot]

There are some operators in Europe using the aerial saws.

Check some websites in europe, as example:
www.helimatic-gmbh.de
and with photos:

http://www.loig.at/helicopter/einsatzarten_helikoptersaege_de.html

[rotorboy]

Aerial solutions, willmington NC , not a lot out there on them, owner likes it that way. Has US patents on saw.

Search old threads, has been discussed before

RB

[Dynamic Component]

rotorboy- I do know abour Aerial Solutions, but can't find much about them on the net.

tecpilot- Thanks for the info.

Are there any companies in Canada that use the saws?:}

Thanx again:ok:

[TangoMikeYankee]

Found this old thread and thought I might bring it to life again.

Does anybody out there know how they keep the saw straight?:confused:
Gyroscopic effect? :confused:
How far do these saws hang below the helicopter?
What engines do they have in the things and how are they driven?
I would have thought that hydrolics would be ideal, but would that not be too heavy? :uhoh:

Are there any ppruners out there that fly these things?
Sorry about all the questions, but I'm of a curious nature.:E

[Flingwing207]

Q. How is the helicopter-saw built?

The row of ten 24-inch carbide-tipped steel circular blades are mounted on a lightweight metal channel. The blades are driven by belts in the channel, which, in turn, connect to a 45-hp two-cycle snowmobile engine. The engine is connected to an aluminum tube, which is connected to the helicopter. The aluminum tube is in 20-ft (6 m) sections that make the full 150+ foot length variable depending on the height of the trees to be trimmed. The saw blade length can be varied from 15 saw blades to 11.

Q. When the helicopter and saw are moving along, trimming a line, how can the pilot keep the saw blades from turning sideways?

A. The suspension member is made of an aluminum of high torsional rigidity. It is hinged where it connects to the saw so the saw can swing fore and aft, but not sideways. It also is hinged at the helicopter, so that the helicopter can land with the saw stretched out in front of it. A small motor in the helicopter can turn the saw slightly sideways to compensate for wind pressures. Typically, the saw is designed to point in the same direction as the helicopter.

Q. Is it safe?

A. Aerial Solutions has developed the saw and has operated it successfully for 15 years without an accident. On some occasions the saw can become entangled in the branches. The helicopter can be maneuvered into the clear, or, if that wouldn't work, mechanisms in the helicopter can release the saw assembly.

[Heliport]

Aerial sawing in Finland

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Rotorheads/Gallery/tuotsaha4_10b.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Rotorheads/Gallery/tuotsaha2_10.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Rotorheads/Gallery/tuotsaha1_10.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Rotorheads/Gallery/sahaus14ax1.jpg___http://www.helitour.fi/images/animsahaus2a.gif

[bobjim]

you wouldn't want to hit a chunky tree trunk mind...does anybody know if there's one in Australia?:ooh:

[Heli-kiwi]

There is one in NZ, operated by Mountain air in Taumaranui. The operator is Keith Mackenzie and I think he designed it himself - from memory it had about 3 large blades and a 250-500cc 2 stroke motor running it all under a 500D. I don't know how much info he will share on it for obvious reasons - I'm pretty sure he is the only operator in NZ using a saw............We need them here to shear the massive sheep that run around the mountains you see :E

[Heliport]

This is the one operated by Keith Mackenzie at Taumaranui.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Rotorheads/Gallery/gallery-heli_saw.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Rotorheads/Gallery/gallery-keith-saw.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Rotorheads/Gallery/gallery-heli-29.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Rotorheads/Gallery/gallery-heli-30.jpg



There doesn't seem to be be any steering mechanism but it's difficult to tell from the pictures.

[Bronx]

Here's a video of a Hughes 500 treecutting.

Link to video (http://www.tottoshobby.net/Video/Hughes_treecutting.wmv)

It's about 5 minutes and gets better as you go on.


B.

[twinstar_ca]

great vid.. but really, wouldn't that be considered as ppruning the trees?? :ok: :E