The Pilot and Co-Pilot are very skilled.
They appear to be in their 50's - 60's. All pilots required to have annual DOT
physicals and certifications.
Yes I would trust my life on those older pilots, much more so compared to a
someone in their 20's or 30's.
I am a veteran Tower Dog (still active) and would not hesitate a moment to be
one of the guys within the mono-pole tube.
Any static build up between the helicopter and mono-pole is discharged through
the out-reached grappling hook touching the dangling alignment cables. This
allows safe electrical discharge. The grappling hook is electrically bounded
to the mono-pole.
This is an excellent video from the technical side, displaying some of the huge
dangers of this profession.
Thanks n 73,
James Hunt
ki5dq
--------------------------------------------
On Fri, 9/25/15, K7LXC--- via TowerTalk <towertalk@contesting.com> wrote:
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Steady Hand On The Stick Wow!!!!!
To: towertalk@contesting.com
Date: Friday, September 25, 2015, 4:15 PM
> I cannot imagine being up on that partially built tower depending on a
>helicopter to hold it steady while they bolted the sections together! One
>little shift in the wind.....
Well, it's not quite that bad. The guys on the tower are the ones with
control over the load which is in equilibrium. All you have to do is push or
pull the load up or down or sideways and that's what it does. It's pretty
easy - assuming of course that the helo isn't gyrating a lot.
A potential problem is that the slung load will build up a static charge
due to the large amount of air blowing by it.
If you don't dissipate the charge, you'll get a real jolt. A local guy
grabbed the load without discharging it and it knocked him out. Maybe it was
his head hitting the tower but the end result was the same.
Fifteen or 20 years ago a small one rented for $450 an hour. I'll
guarantee it's lots more now.
Cheers,
Steve K7LXC
TOWER TECH
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