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Forum Index : Off topic archive. : balancing act
| Author | Message | ||||
| Dinges Senior Member  Joined: 04/01/2008 Location: AlbaniaPosts: 510 |
Just another day at the office. Same old same old. http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=6_NEAEGeFIw Somehow I don't really envy the helicopter pilot either, even though he gets to stay nice and 'safe' inside his helo. Fast buzzing rotorblades close to those wires. Not much room for error. Very unforgiving work environment. On the bright side... I doubt these guys ever complain to the wife over dinner about a boring, uneventful day. In their case, uneventful would be good. Peter. |
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oztules Guru  Joined: 26/07/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1686 |
It is unbelievable that this is even allowed..... but as it is then .........wow Village idiot...or... just another hack out of his depth |
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GWatPE Senior Member Joined: 01/09/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2127 |
Only a week or so ago, technicians inspecting insulators on the 256kV line near Murray Bridge using a heli, in a similar manner were not so lucky. The heli clipped the lines and crashed. Gordon. become more energy aware |
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AMACK Senior Member Joined: 31/05/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 184 |
You Must have big brass ones to do that sort of work.. *Note to self 1. Make it thick 2.Make it heavy. 3.Make it stronger than it should be. 4. Don't rush the first job as the second job will cost more and take mor |
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Bryan1 Guru Joined: 22/02/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1448 |
We have high voltage power lines on the farm and twice I've seen lightning hit them but never had the digi camera handy. Usually the next day a chopper flies up to the tower and one or 2 guys stand on the side of the chopper to fix the lines. It really is great to watch and oneday I will have the digi camera handy so hopefully I can make a small video of them doing their job. |
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| greendreamin Newbie  Joined: 02/02/2008 Location: AustraliaPosts: 20 |
un real did you see the massive spark come off the rod they were using to ground??? the chopper or maybee keep the chopper and the line at the same voltage. its right at the end of the clip as the chopper pulls away sweet |
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MacGyver Guru Joined: 12/05/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 1329 |
It's been nearly 40 years since college physics, but if my memory serves me correctly, the suits are "Faraday suits" and are made of interwoven metal wire, which conducts the electricity 'around' the guys wearing them. The wand brings both themselves and the helicopter to the same potential and they are in effect no different than birds sitting on the wire. There is a large EMF (electro-motive force -- probably 69 KV or more), which draws an arc in the air both arriving and leaving. My assumption is that each line is the same phase and different phases are carried at different levels on the tower. Any phase-to-phase or phase-to-ground contact is instant light show and everything disappears in a puff of white smoke! If the chopper's blades get mixed with the wires, it's double trouble. First, as soon as phases touch or the chopper makes ground, it's instant death. If that doesn't get you, the impending crash will or BOTH! I'll stick to plumbing, thank you very much! Nothing difficult is ever easy! Perhaps better stated in the words of Morgan Freeman, "Where there is no struggle, there is no progress!" Copeville, Texas |
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| Janne Senior Member Joined: 20/06/2008 Location: FinlandPosts: 121 |
Another pretty cool thing one can do with helicopters & power lines is this clearing of the wire paths on the forest.. It looks quite hairy, but the pilots say the work goes ok when the saw is put into a backward-forward oscillating motion. It still takes skill to keep the saw oscillating, while also keeping the saw away from the power lines :) This method is used for the medium transfer lines, running 20kV. I couldn't find any english videos, or other content about this, I wonder how widely this technique is used? link Youtube clip If at first you don't succeed, try again. My projects |
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| MacGyver Guru Joined: 12/05/2009 Location: United StatesPosts: 1329 |
Yikes! Nothing difficult is ever easy! Perhaps better stated in the words of Morgan Freeman, "Where there is no struggle, there is no progress!" Copeville, Texas |
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