Power Line Warning Balls
 

I was reading through some old crash comics and FSA issues and thinking just how many of the crop duster and other prangs involving low flying aircraft that could have been prevented by the use of power line warning balls.
Seems most duster pilots know the power lines are there, but either forget or have the sun in just the wrong spot and bang. In the USA I've seen the power line warning balls in every state I've been to. They've got to be a cheap and effective way to prevent these prangs. Relatively cheap and highly visible, if supplied by the farmers the energy providers should install them for nix if they can get access to the line with their insulated bucket cherry pickers, No power disruptions etc. Yanks even have them where power lines cross a river or ravine, even though there should be no low flying there.
( One companies billboard ad had the slogan,- "Let our balls save yours".)

Just a thought.
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Problem is that there's too many powerlines to install them on to be financially feasible. Also there's the problem that many of the powerlines can't support the weight of putting marker balls all the way along them.

So marker balls are installed in locations where aircraft frequent.

I wasn't suggesting every power line, Just for farms that use crop sprayers on a regular basis.
A farm my have 20 paddocks that get sprayed or fertilised but only two paddocks adjacent to the power line from the road down to the house.

Utterly impractical suggestion. Exactly which power line is a threat is, among other things, wind determined. I respect your concerns however.

When I did my low level, powerline awareness was one of the main subjects drummed into me at a very early stage. You carried out a very detailed investigation and inspection of the area before even considering commencing the low level ops. I'm sure its the same for the ag sprayers and fire bombers.

Where I hangar my aircraft they're are wo balls on lines crossing final for one of the runways. Unless someone pointed them out, a stranger would not notice them.

You're dreaming if you think the power companies will install them for nix.

These things were the subject of a Senate enquiry chaired by the Greens some time ago. It was found that they detract from the visual landscape and they recommended that they should be coloured blue so that they blend with the sky.

Don't laugh, the greenies in the Wollongong area also required that the towers supporting the wires be painted dark green, and wanted to paint the wires green. Who would be the first to complain when their power supply to the energy-efficient weaving loom was cut by a collision with an aircraft?

If doing crop dusting would be better to come up with some sort of transportable laser beam arrangement - maybe at base of each pole send a beam of at 45 degrees?

A distance could be determined by the poles (found at start of beam) and the x would be the max height of any wire with sag as safety.

They are here, not at all that far from me, maybe 7km away?.....they're installed over a landfill site, and run from the top of a ridge to the base of the landfill site......highly visible.....just no GA activity goes anywhere near them!!

How come the Green Loonies don't demand their hideous windfarm contraptions be painted to fit in with the landscape then??

I know of someone who flew into power lines and lived to tell the tale. Put all the baubles you can on them, in fact dress them up like a christmas trees. The sad part is the weakest link is the human brain which can be easily side tracked for the briefest of moments - even after a recce flight and ground walk has been performed.

Just fire up the R-MAX and stay on the ground...

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I see the final report has been released from where a Conquest clipped powerlines when coming in to land at a farm strip on South Australia's Far West Coast.


The powerlines are described in the ATSB report as being 370m from the runway, and 7.5 metres above ground level.


From the report, the owner of the airstrip told the charter company that the power lines were there before the aircraft arrived, but neither pilot of the two aircraft arriving that day appear to be aware of the power lines.

Low approach then.

Indeed, that is very low!

Perhaps the runway is short so they might have been dragging it in as best as you can in a Conquest :-)

The airstrip is 900m, and rises slightly to the NW (the direction this pilot was landing).

I don't know how much you need for a fully loaded Conquest.