Aerial Power Saws (Incl pictures & video)
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2000
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From: Above the 23.5 parallel Australia
Aerial Power Saws (Incl pictures & video)
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
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
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 420
Likes: 0
From: Florida
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 1,051
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From: CA
Good fun until you slip.....
Post by Dave Jackson deleted in error.
Dave's link - Tree-felling in BC
Heliport
Post by Dave Jackson deleted in error.
Dave's link - Tree-felling in BC
Heliport
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 385
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From: 1 deg south, avoiding Malaria P Falciparium
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
Neat to watch 11 2 foot baldes hanging on a pole... wild stuff
RB
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 5,197
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From: UK
Pilot operates Aerial Saw, helicopter simultaneously
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.
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.
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.
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.
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 111
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From: lake providence, la.
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.
Joined: Jul 2004
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From: within walking distance of the pub
wsps
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.
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.
Joined: Nov 2000
Aviation Qualifications: PPL
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From: Annecy
"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.
How so? There is no earth (ground) path.
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 248
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From: Here,there &everywhere
Aerial saw
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
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
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 155
Likes: 1
From: France
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
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
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 506
Likes: 1
From: Europe
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/einsat...rsaege_de.html
Check some websites in europe, as example:
www.helimatic-gmbh.de
and with photos:
http://www.loig.at/helicopter/einsat...rsaege_de.html