[TowerTalk] Climbing is risky business

[WD0M]

Since we're telling tales, during the summer after my high school 
graduation, I worked for the California Institute of Technology's Owens 
Valley Radio Observatory.  One of my duties was to attend to the MASER 
(Magnetic Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) receivers 
located at the focal point of the huge dish antennas.  I checked the liquid 
helium levels that cooled the ruby that was held in a dewar (thermos 
bottle) that made it all work.

One bright, sunny, and hot day (working with liquid helium was a great way 
to cool off), I pointed the 130 foot dish straight up to the sky, locked 
everything in place so it wouldn't be moved, and then climbed to the top of 
the dish's focal point, which by this time was WAY up in the air (about 150 
feet) - I didn't have any problems with the height, and the platform at the 
top was a fairly decent size (about 1 meter square), so (being young and 
foolish), I was up there working on the receiver - without any safety 
device to hold me in place.  Hey, as I said, I was young and foolish (some 
would say stupid, and I would categorize it that way today, looking back).

After beginning work on the MASERs, I let my attention wander, enjoying the 
view of the Sierras and White Mountain ranges.  About that time, a 
USAF  F-4 Phantom came whistling by the installation, right between the 
dish I was on and one next to it, and WAY below FAA minimums.  He must have 
been en route back to Edwards AFB, which (at the speed he was going) was 
only a few minutes away.  He must have been going close to mach 1 - there 
was no hint that he was coming, but LOTS of noise, JP4 smell, and a huge 
blast of wind as he was going away.  I was sure I felt the dish sway from 
the shock wave, and my heart almost popped out of my chest.

That inspired me to do two things - 1) never work without a safety harness 
when on an elevated and dangerous location (like a tower), and, 2) join the 
Air Force.  Having spent 26 years on active duty and retiring as a colonel, 
I never managed to track down who the pilot was on the F-4, but had I done 
so, I would have been tempted to smack him one, and then thank him for 
underscoring the dangers associated with tempting gravity (and fate) from 
high places.

73,
Joe
Colonel, USAF (Ret)
WD0M