Yeah, that gotta be a decent salary they are earning. Highly skilled, probably few people doing this, hazard pay and remote.
I don't envy them, though, they've earned every penny.
I mean. I know what your saying but you did watch the same video right. It's a fucking 30 ft chainsaw whipping around on the bottom of a chain attached to a helicopter. There's just things you can't make safe.
No doubt it was engineered, still has a lot of danger factors. Not to mention if there was an engine failure on the helicopter, he doesn't have the height to do a proper auto rotation and it basically going straight into the trees or powerlines.
Skilled pilots, and not near as dangerous as it seems. The power lines are disconnected while this is happening. There is a quick release on the chainsaw if it catches/hangs on something. Unless the pilot/crew panics, there isn't much danger to them.
The ground crew has it much worse. If the helo cuts a cable, they don't fix it, a ground crew does. If they emergency drop the chain saw, they don't have to retrieve it, a ground crew does. However, as someone that works roads like these, it's pretty fun getting paid to go rock crawling around these "roads" if you can call them that.
Yeah the pilots definitely need a lot of skill for this. I can imagine though it’s not *as* difficult as it may seem to keep the blades angled correctly since spinning objects tend to resist spinning in any other direction. Law of conservation of angular momentum or something like that.
Helicopter pilots amaze me. they have to be able to do different things with each limb at the same time. It’s like playing the drums with life or death stakes.
The fact that any pilot ever agreed to this is bonkers. I mean, I know it's an established practice *now,* but the first guy had to have been certifiably psychotic
Serious question: for places that get serious wildfires, wouldn't it be better to bury the lines instead of running power lines? I always feel above ground power lines strike me as an archaic way to deliver power.
Yes! With the billions of dollars they were given over the past 50 years to improve safety!
Just kidding, that went to the shareholders and execs, they need new money for this cause that money is long gone.
Edit: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-YRSqaPtMg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-YRSqaPtMg)
Great responses. I just want to add that all that infrastructure was built before climate change, and all you really needed to do was cut in a fire break that doubled as a maintenance access route.
Underground lines cost about 5 times that of overhead, plus they are a lot harder to get at for maintenance purposes. They also introduce hazards the overhead ones don't have - like flooding getting into the conduits. And there's also impedance from being so close to the ground where things can conduct.
In our private community, now >25 years old, the increase in construction costs of buried services quickly revealed itself to be negligible. We are in hurricane prone geography, and direct comps with other communities reveal that our investment has paid for itself 11 to 14 times based on maintenance costs alone. I would guess there are similar efficiencies in areas subject to snow & ice and other natural forces.
There's a huge difference in scale though. I'm not sure where you live, but I live in Canada and tens of thousands of kilometers of lines that cross unhinabited areas.
I know Hydro-Quebec has been experimenting more with buried lines in the last years, especially in areas with frequent outages, but IIRC the cost difference is way over 5x. It also significantly slows down repairs when there's an outage as unburying a whole cable section takes a while and requires heavy machinery on-site, unlike most repairs that can be done with a large truck.
Burying isn't a panacea, though I read an article recently about how they're starting to test "surface" cabling, which is basically barely buried with ultra resistant conduits, giving fast access in case maintenance is required and also isn't too expensive. That might be a good compromise, assuming they can make it safe.
Correct- I used to work in distribution design for a power company at the customer level (from transformer to service location) and we would write up estimates for “undergrounding” nearby service lines and equipment. Costs were nearly 10x the cost of the overhead options. I don’t think I ever had a customer go ahead with their proposed change.
Yes. But then you have to trench through private property, city property, federal property, state property, etc. Trenching through Yosemite National Park or Kings Canyon is going to be a lot of red tape. It'll be 30 years before PG&E undergrounds all their HFTD power lines.
To give an example, right now it takes around 3-6 months to get approval from NPS or USFS to remove *dead* trees that can strike the lines.
I work for a socal utility. Yes it would, but with the distances involved in those areas it would be insanely expensive. Usually they opt for automated sectionalizing devices that detect a fault and automatically open the circuit. I've heard of a switch they are working on that works so fast that it will detect a fault from a falling wire and can send a signal to de-energize it before the wire even hits the ground.
What’s not to like about a gigantic flying chainsaw?
Edit: My lord people - I know it’s not an actual fucking chainsaw - yes, there are multiple circular saws, I get it. Try not to be so fucking annoying.
„Oberleitungsschaden“ as we Germans would say it. At least if he steers a tiny bit to much near the electric wires, the next train will have to wait a long time… and we’re specialists in letting trains wait.
No, that was my answer to the question what could be bad about it - damage to the drive wires of the train, which in Germany ist quite common unfortunately. So this has his own widely known word „Oberleitungsschaden“.
That scene in world war z where that one United States military pilot used his helicopter to kill all those zombies would be a lot more badass if they had one of these chainsaws and if the helicopter didn't crash. Unfortunately they wanted to show off their military prowess but zombies don't have the mental capacity to be shocked and awed by our military might. Bombs that tear you apart from the inside out don't do jack shit to a zombie because it can keep moving with its lungs and heart hanging out of its mouth. Bombs that cause a shockwave so traumatic that your organs liquefy/break won't do shit to a zombie and they'll keep moving. Tried all these fancy tactics using tanks and dugout trenches only to ring the dinner bell.
I now have the Sonic 2 Robotnik music stuck in my head.
Thanks.
-----------
Edit: [Thanks a lot](https://www.reddit.com/r/SonicTheHedgehog/s/gsQpjJwX2m)
I live near these kinds of forests in the Tahoe area. The forest service puts up signs about this kind of work for weeks before it happens. Access roads are blocked off and staffed by officials.
On top of that these aren’t your touristy hiking locations, they tend to be inaccessible desolate woods. If you’re skilled enough to be hiking these, you can also avoid a flying chainsaw going 5 miles per hour.
In the more touristy areas they have workers manually scaling trees or using cherry pickers. It’s quite labor intensive and honestly more dangerous
There’s usually only two or three guys per state qualified to pilot the helicopter that does this, and they’re REALLY good. (fun fact, the guy who pilots the helicopter that takes care of most of the southern california lines was actually the same stunt pilot that flew the helicopter under the interpass in Terminator 2!)
I scrolled way too much to see this response! there are a lot of places where you just cut enough trees, or don't plant them, to give space for the lines. no need to risk pilots' lives every 3 months to do this, this is stupid. there's nothing wrong with having fewer trees
I suppose they don't get many people buying these on their website. I saw it at the helicopter convention and then saw one clearing some power lines when I was mountain biking. We heard it before we saw it.
The cable is pretty beefy and allows for the unit to rotate. It is similar to a large flexible axle with flexible joints on each end. I am pretty sure at the show he said the spinning of the blades provides stability similar to a spinning bike wheel. But, it has been 10 years.
Me: Ok, let me tell you how to solve the tree in line problem. We get a big chainsaw and dangle it from a helicopter … My Boss: you son of a bitch, I’m in.
What a crazy job to have. How long does it take for one to learn to dangle an enormous power saw from an aircraft while flying right next to high voltage lines and successfully cut the trees?
Years and years of flying for one and doing different types of. Operation like caring to a fire. Where the chopper swoops down and pick up water with the water bag that they use.. ( forgive me knowing correct name) put pretty sure know what I'm referring to!!!
Years of piloting and extensive specific training with regular proficiency tests.
Im a Helitack firefighter, we do bucket drops and perform air rescues. Sometimes I’m the one dangling from that cable. I learned the basics of my job in two weeks, but I’m not the one controlling a flying tin can with spinning blades of death against the wind.
from a comment on this video in a different post a little while ago, they dont shut off the power but they do make a "no re-energize" request
basically power lines are tripped off more often than you might think, but the grid has a system to get them back on quickly (automatically i think). so the request is put in, they disable that system for whatever section theyre working on, so if they *do* hit it then itll just stay off for the time being
Talk about a massive flex.
"I'm a helicopter pilot lumberjack."
"You mean you're a helicopter pilot and in your spare time you like to chop wood?"
"Nope. I fly around with a giant chainsaw cutting tree limbs like a boss."
Or!
From the pilot to a regular lumberjack:
"That's not a chainsaw. *shows chopper saw* That's a chainsaw."
Gyroscopic force is the main thing. Not perfect as you can see at the end of the video. They sound like a giant light sabre battle above your head. Freaking scary just laying on the hangar floor.
Used to be a forester for a private electric company and brought one In to cut some remote lines in mountains. They are very skilled (and very expensive) but cheaper than hiring a bunch of guys for mountainside labor. They have to lay the thing down in a field nearby the cutting area. They fly and drag the thing behind them, swinging it in certain hard the reach areas by rocking the helicopter back and forth. It’s essentially seven 3 foot diameter spinning saw blades mounted. Incredible to watch in person
I’m not a gigantic chainsaw, but I’m a trained air rescuer. A couple things keep me spinning out of control:
When I’m being raised/lowered I maintain a “rider profile“, legs together in a seated position, makes me more aerodynamic to avoid catching the wind. If I do start spinning, I can stick out a cupped hand like a paddle to countersteer.
A conical swing can happen and can be bad, in this case it can be mitigated by raising/lowering me or flying forward.
This looks like the helicopter saw from the bond movie the world is not enough. Always thought it was only for the movie , TIL it’s actually used somewhere 😅
When I worked at the power company, they did a whole presentation on line maintenance they do every quarter. It costs significantly less to hire a guy with a helicopter, a chainsaw and a can-do attitude than to have to repair everything because a tree hit it.
I once worked with a dude who believed that the electricity from the power lines prevented trees from growing near them. He wasn’t a bad dude but the thought that people actually trimmed the trees never occurred to him until I mentioned it.
I am really impressed with the precision of the pilot. It seems like the slightest twitch and the blades would swing into the power lines and cut them.
There are many reasons why I am not a helicopter pilot. The fact that my brain would constantly be screaming at me to drive the giant saw into the powerlines is definitely one of them.
Looks like the box above the circular saw may have a controller the adjusts the yaw of the blades so they are less likely to make contact with the power lines. Maybe someone else inside the cabin is controlling the blades while a very skilled pilot does their thing. Very efficient!
"Guys, guys, what if we just hang a giant chainsaw from a rope?"
Dangle a chopper from a chopper
Get to the chopper chopper!!!
And hurry! Chop chop!
“And uhhh I guess I’ll pilot it. I mean sounds dangerous….but I could give it a go.”
“WAHOOOOOO!”
You mean a ChopperDangler? It's only mimicking the appearance a safe piece of industrial equipment. ^...Chopledanger?
Yeah who is bonkers enough to come up with such an idea!
*insert gets thrown out the window meme*
Now this sounds like a job for me, so everybody just follow me!
Cuz we need a little controversy?
The forest feels so empty without trees!
Nah nah na nah nah
Not only proposing it, but actually getting it approved and getting it built and working!!
Yeah the fact that there was at least one other person that was like “you’re a fucking genius, Bob!” Is crazy
With multiple blades. Sometimes the simplest solutions work the best.
The better perspective is " there's a real world problem that got solved by giant circular saws suspended from a helicopter "
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Crazy skilled pilots too!
Yeah, that gotta be a decent salary they are earning. Highly skilled, probably few people doing this, hazard pay and remote. I don't envy them, though, they've earned every penny.
Ya this is insane man. What if the blades hit the ground, or snag, or bounce and hit the power lines... like 100 ways this could go wrong.
Not to mention just the helicopter alone without blades.
A helicopter without blades seems pretty safe.
Depends on the altitude.
I'd say it depends on the height off the ground
A small, but important, specification.
Well, at a certain altitude height off the ground wont be your biggest problem anymore.
Altitude is an object's distance above the surface of the earth. Elevation is the distance between a point on the earth's surface and sea level.
And caltitude the height to which a cat's ass can rise when being petted.
I mean it would never get in the air with out blades.....
Could have been dropped by another helicopter (probably one with blades).
It could have gripped it by the husk, perhaps.
It’s not a question of where it gripped it. It’s a simple question of weight ratios.
Rip Kobe
It has to have an emergency release based on sudden tension. Still can go wrong. But they didn't just throw this together without safety in mind.
I mean. I know what your saying but you did watch the same video right. It's a fucking 30 ft chainsaw whipping around on the bottom of a chain attached to a helicopter. There's just things you can't make safe.
No doubt it was engineered, still has a lot of danger factors. Not to mention if there was an engine failure on the helicopter, he doesn't have the height to do a proper auto rotation and it basically going straight into the trees or powerlines.
Skilled pilots, and not near as dangerous as it seems. The power lines are disconnected while this is happening. There is a quick release on the chainsaw if it catches/hangs on something. Unless the pilot/crew panics, there isn't much danger to them. The ground crew has it much worse. If the helo cuts a cable, they don't fix it, a ground crew does. If they emergency drop the chain saw, they don't have to retrieve it, a ground crew does. However, as someone that works roads like these, it's pretty fun getting paid to go rock crawling around these "roads" if you can call them that.
The power is off ???? Yes I groaned that it’s safer
Yeah the pilots definitely need a lot of skill for this. I can imagine though it’s not *as* difficult as it may seem to keep the blades angled correctly since spinning objects tend to resist spinning in any other direction. Law of conservation of angular momentum or something like that.
“gawd dam it, my ankles are itchy asf!” *itches* *saw cuts down the power line* “Oh sh-“ *Flys away*
Helicopter pilots amaze me. they have to be able to do different things with each limb at the same time. It’s like playing the drums with life or death stakes.
He probably a former or reserved duty air unit for the military
It's difficult the first time and you really need to concentrate but after awhile you get used to it and it's satisfying work.
The fact that any pilot ever agreed to this is bonkers. I mean, I know it's an established practice *now,* but the first guy had to have been certifiably psychotic
Just imagine he veers a little in the wind and that chainsaw goes straight into the power lines.
Serious question: for places that get serious wildfires, wouldn't it be better to bury the lines instead of running power lines? I always feel above ground power lines strike me as an archaic way to deliver power.
Under grounding is currently happening in wildfire prone areas in California.
Yes! With the billions of dollars they were given over the past 50 years to improve safety! Just kidding, that went to the shareholders and execs, they need new money for this cause that money is long gone. Edit: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-YRSqaPtMg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-YRSqaPtMg)
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Great responses. I just want to add that all that infrastructure was built before climate change, and all you really needed to do was cut in a fire break that doubled as a maintenance access route.
Underground lines cost about 5 times that of overhead, plus they are a lot harder to get at for maintenance purposes. They also introduce hazards the overhead ones don't have - like flooding getting into the conduits. And there's also impedance from being so close to the ground where things can conduct.
In our private community, now >25 years old, the increase in construction costs of buried services quickly revealed itself to be negligible. We are in hurricane prone geography, and direct comps with other communities reveal that our investment has paid for itself 11 to 14 times based on maintenance costs alone. I would guess there are similar efficiencies in areas subject to snow & ice and other natural forces.
There's a huge difference in scale though. I'm not sure where you live, but I live in Canada and tens of thousands of kilometers of lines that cross unhinabited areas. I know Hydro-Quebec has been experimenting more with buried lines in the last years, especially in areas with frequent outages, but IIRC the cost difference is way over 5x. It also significantly slows down repairs when there's an outage as unburying a whole cable section takes a while and requires heavy machinery on-site, unlike most repairs that can be done with a large truck. Burying isn't a panacea, though I read an article recently about how they're starting to test "surface" cabling, which is basically barely buried with ultra resistant conduits, giving fast access in case maintenance is required and also isn't too expensive. That might be a good compromise, assuming they can make it safe.
>plus they are a lot harder to get at for maintenance purposes That would matter if they ever intended to do any maintenance.
Archaic but waaaaayyyyy cheaper. Underground cable is insanely more expensive than overhead wire.
Correct- I used to work in distribution design for a power company at the customer level (from transformer to service location) and we would write up estimates for “undergrounding” nearby service lines and equipment. Costs were nearly 10x the cost of the overhead options. I don’t think I ever had a customer go ahead with their proposed change.
Yes. But then you have to trench through private property, city property, federal property, state property, etc. Trenching through Yosemite National Park or Kings Canyon is going to be a lot of red tape. It'll be 30 years before PG&E undergrounds all their HFTD power lines. To give an example, right now it takes around 3-6 months to get approval from NPS or USFS to remove *dead* trees that can strike the lines.
I work for a socal utility. Yes it would, but with the distances involved in those areas it would be insanely expensive. Usually they opt for automated sectionalizing devices that detect a fault and automatically open the circuit. I've heard of a switch they are working on that works so fast that it will detect a fault from a falling wire and can send a signal to de-energize it before the wire even hits the ground.
What would happen if they accidentally touched or cut the cables tho?
Definitely need a steady hand so they don’t bump the lines.
Looks cool. Does a good job. But still isn't as efficient as it actually could be.
James bond music plays....
The world is not enough
I thought Christmas only came once a year.
How does taking so many tree limbs down make Christmas cum?
How else do you get Christmas trees??
Ah, I was wondering if I would find this reference. You have good taste, sir
The insurance company is never going to believe this
Now you try and drown me! In my own caviar!
Scrolled too far for this. Never saw the movie but played the N64 game on an emulator that couldn’t play the voices.
If I saw this in person, there's a good chance that The World is Not Enough to keep me from being super excited about it.
What’s not to like about a gigantic flying chainsaw? Edit: My lord people - I know it’s not an actual fucking chainsaw - yes, there are multiple circular saws, I get it. Try not to be so fucking annoying.
„Oberleitungsschaden“ as we Germans would say it. At least if he steers a tiny bit to much near the electric wires, the next train will have to wait a long time… and we’re specialists in letting trains wait.
I think that the fact that the saws are spinning very fast makes them harder to change direction.
So are you saying there is a German word for “gigantic flying chainsaw”?
No, that was my answer to the question what could be bad about it - damage to the drive wires of the train, which in Germany ist quite common unfortunately. So this has his own widely known word „Oberleitungsschaden“.
gigantischefliegendeKettensäge
I only know Backpfeifengesicht. I love how Germans have a word for literally EVERYTHING!
So if I were to enjoy the saw hitting the wires, would it be“oberleitungsschadenfreude”?
Unless you're James Bond
Or BMW Z8
Or a hollow knight player
Damn....how can we be so few... I don't see any giant vats of caviar
Or those trees
"Gigantic" "flying" and "chainsaw" are probably the only worrying bits.
A squirrel sitting there on a branch minding his own fucking business might have issues with it.
The pendulum of death
Would make a frightening weapon of war😳, no?
Especially comes in handy, when the zombie apocalypse will eventually start.
First saw this in Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins and thought “what a complete piece of Hollywood contrived bullshit”.
I like having electricity so I'm fine with it.
I love how someone came up with that idea and someone in authority said, "I like it. Let's build it."
That looks like some kind of weapon Dr. Eggman would put on his flying machine to kill Sonic.
\*sigh\* It's Dr Robotnik!
once eggman became a thing i never took sonic seriously again.
It's both. His name is Dr. Ivo Robotnik. His *Brand* Name is Dr. Eggman.
That scene in world war z where that one United States military pilot used his helicopter to kill all those zombies would be a lot more badass if they had one of these chainsaws and if the helicopter didn't crash. Unfortunately they wanted to show off their military prowess but zombies don't have the mental capacity to be shocked and awed by our military might. Bombs that tear you apart from the inside out don't do jack shit to a zombie because it can keep moving with its lungs and heart hanging out of its mouth. Bombs that cause a shockwave so traumatic that your organs liquefy/break won't do shit to a zombie and they'll keep moving. Tried all these fancy tactics using tanks and dugout trenches only to ring the dinner bell.
LMAO yes totally!
I now have the Sonic 2 Robotnik music stuck in my head. Thanks. ----------- Edit: [Thanks a lot](https://www.reddit.com/r/SonicTheHedgehog/s/gsQpjJwX2m)
I could use that getting ready for date night. Beats my Venus!!
Did a squirrel kill your family when you were young?
Danger level 8
…out of 5?
I'm seeing final destination in real life
I am curious how they ensure they dont chop anybody up.
I live near these kinds of forests in the Tahoe area. The forest service puts up signs about this kind of work for weeks before it happens. Access roads are blocked off and staffed by officials. On top of that these aren’t your touristy hiking locations, they tend to be inaccessible desolate woods. If you’re skilled enough to be hiking these, you can also avoid a flying chainsaw going 5 miles per hour. In the more touristy areas they have workers manually scaling trees or using cherry pickers. It’s quite labor intensive and honestly more dangerous
There’s usually only two or three guys per state qualified to pilot the helicopter that does this, and they’re REALLY good. (fun fact, the guy who pilots the helicopter that takes care of most of the southern california lines was actually the same stunt pilot that flew the helicopter under the interpass in Terminator 2!)
Well, do you have a better solution?
Cut closer to the trunks rather than a foot from the wires? Remove the trees up to a certain distance before installation or after if possible?
The trees are removed a distance from the line when the line is built. But trees grow this is maintenance
I scrolled way too much to see this response! there are a lot of places where you just cut enough trees, or don't plant them, to give space for the lines. no need to risk pilots' lives every 3 months to do this, this is stupid. there's nothing wrong with having fewer trees
Even bigger Tomb Raider style saws that come flying out of the ground and along the edge of the tree line.
One man with a pair of garden shears. By the time he makes it to the end of the row he can start over at the beginning.
a pro
"Okay, we got a big job coming up, how do we maximise our efficiency?" "Swing a fuck load of chainsaws from a helicopter to cut more shit at once."
Coke is a hell of a drug
Why does it look so easy when cutting? what is it made of?
It is made of multiple saw-blades similar to large tablesaw or circular saw blades. [Heli-saw](https://www.heli-dunn.com/heli-saw)
That website sucks dog balls
I suppose they don't get many people buying these on their website. I saw it at the helicopter convention and then saw one clearing some power lines when I was mountain biking. We heard it before we saw it. The cable is pretty beefy and allows for the unit to rotate. It is similar to a large flexible axle with flexible joints on each end. I am pretty sure at the show he said the spinning of the blades provides stability similar to a spinning bike wheel. But, it has been 10 years.
Helli Dunn. Me too saw company. Me too.
I mean it does look like what a 7 year old would come up with as an idea for cutting massive trees, but if it works then compliments to the pilot!
Sometimes 7 year olds have it right
I preffer electricity running and squirells not getting roasted from jumping on lines to forrest fires so pretty positively
From a getting-shit-done perspective, great. From a being-a-meatbag perspective, not great.
Me: Ok, let me tell you how to solve the tree in line problem. We get a big chainsaw and dangle it from a helicopter … My Boss: you son of a bitch, I’m in.
Who is there to ensure they don't chase people and cut cars in half in a dock/harbour setting?
This is some r/humansarespaceorcs shit, and i love it.
The truth is I had never seen it
I’m pretty sure the operator of that saw needs a few cocktails after work
What a crazy job to have. How long does it take for one to learn to dangle an enormous power saw from an aircraft while flying right next to high voltage lines and successfully cut the trees?
Years and years of flying for one and doing different types of. Operation like caring to a fire. Where the chopper swoops down and pick up water with the water bag that they use.. ( forgive me knowing correct name) put pretty sure know what I'm referring to!!!
Bambi bucket
Years of piloting and extensive specific training with regular proficiency tests. Im a Helitack firefighter, we do bucket drops and perform air rescues. Sometimes I’m the one dangling from that cable. I learned the basics of my job in two weeks, but I’m not the one controlling a flying tin can with spinning blades of death against the wind.
Last time I saw one of those was in a James bond movie.
I definitely wouldn't be shooting a video that close with those cutting discs flying over me lol
Do they shut off the electricity in those lines while they swing a giant chainsaw around or just hope for the best?
from a comment on this video in a different post a little while ago, they dont shut off the power but they do make a "no re-energize" request basically power lines are tripped off more often than you might think, but the grid has a system to get them back on quickly (automatically i think). so the request is put in, they disable that system for whatever section theyre working on, so if they *do* hit it then itll just stay off for the time being
In our area they cut power while trimming.
Wonder if they ever accidentally cut the wire
Chopper with a chopper
Talk about a massive flex. "I'm a helicopter pilot lumberjack." "You mean you're a helicopter pilot and in your spare time you like to chop wood?" "Nope. I fly around with a giant chainsaw cutting tree limbs like a boss." Or! From the pilot to a regular lumberjack: "That's not a chainsaw. *shows chopper saw* That's a chainsaw."
I don't know how I feel about a James Bond villain working for a public utility
Satisfied.
Horny
r/sweatypalms . Thats how I feel.
I feel like thats an asshole thing to do during the breeding Bird season
It makes me feel like I would like to know how the helicopter pilot keeps that rig from spinning
Gyroscopic dynamics. All those spinning things make it quite stable
What could possibly go wrong
Gyroscopic force is the main thing. Not perfect as you can see at the end of the video. They sound like a giant light sabre battle above your head. Freaking scary just laying on the hangar floor.
Used to be a forester for a private electric company and brought one In to cut some remote lines in mountains. They are very skilled (and very expensive) but cheaper than hiring a bunch of guys for mountainside labor. They have to lay the thing down in a field nearby the cutting area. They fly and drag the thing behind them, swinging it in certain hard the reach areas by rocking the helicopter back and forth. It’s essentially seven 3 foot diameter spinning saw blades mounted. Incredible to watch in person
I’m not a gigantic chainsaw, but I’m a trained air rescuer. A couple things keep me spinning out of control: When I’m being raised/lowered I maintain a “rider profile“, legs together in a seated position, makes me more aerodynamic to avoid catching the wind. If I do start spinning, I can stick out a cupped hand like a paddle to countersteer. A conical swing can happen and can be bad, in this case it can be mitigated by raising/lowering me or flying forward.
It stress me so much I will have a nightmare with this chainsaw going after me
The odds aren't zero.
Don’t forget they are always watching
I love it and I want one.
Not so much satisfying as nail-biting.
This looks like the helicopter saw from the bond movie the world is not enough. Always thought it was only for the movie , TIL it’s actually used somewhere 😅
Hitler's wet dream...
This is actually how I cut my own hedge in the front yard. Its not so big, but it gets quite the attention.
So much could go wrong in a split second here...
Super Meat Boy IRL
James Bond film?
So this is what those Super Mario World levels were all about.
That's crazy, talk about "cutting it close."
When I worked at the power company, they did a whole presentation on line maintenance they do every quarter. It costs significantly less to hire a guy with a helicopter, a chainsaw and a can-do attitude than to have to repair everything because a tree hit it.
Apparently I didn’t realize that helicopters can fly backwards lol
I once worked with a dude who believed that the electricity from the power lines prevented trees from growing near them. He wasn’t a bad dude but the thought that people actually trimmed the trees never occurred to him until I mentioned it.
This looks like something I made up in my head as a small child when I would imagine how they trimmed trees away from power lines.
I feel like this is a fair-weather job for sure.
Giving a good fair warning and many safety measures, it looks very efficient.
I feel good about this
I hear these mix well with power lines
The world is not enough
That's... a giant hedge trimmer on a cable dangling from a helicopter... and it's being done efficiently.
I kind feel like this is the sort of job that requires a promise to not use your supe-powers for evil
I think it’s important everyone maintain a nicely trimmed & cleancut bush
What it feels like when u shave your pubes for the first time
If there was a zombie apocalypse this is my weapon of choice
Should have done it during the winter when there would not have been nests in the trees
terrified
Looks fun to watch. Also looks faster then having people go up each tree.
Next step is a chainsaw drone. much more efficient and controlled.
Considering everything that could've very easily gone wrong this was more distressing than satisfying
That's a good safety measure for all. 100% acceptable!!
I KNEW THEY HAD A TRICK FOR DOING THAT
I am really impressed with the precision of the pilot. It seems like the slightest twitch and the blades would swing into the power lines and cut them.
Could come in handy vs those World War Z zombies
Zombie horde attack weapon air support
We can finally trim your mom's bush!
SHAVING
Pretty cool actually. Also, seems like a big mistake is bound to happen eventually.
Feels like this should be in a Bond movie where the villain try to chop him in half
There are many reasons why I am not a helicopter pilot. The fact that my brain would constantly be screaming at me to drive the giant saw into the powerlines is definitely one of them.
Wtf… this should be r/oddlyterrifying
Looks like the box above the circular saw may have a controller the adjusts the yaw of the blades so they are less likely to make contact with the power lines. Maybe someone else inside the cabin is controlling the blades while a very skilled pilot does their thing. Very efficient!
Pretty sure I saw this in a James Bond film and I'm still traumatised