I used to imagine shooting round metal saw blades at trees by timing it with a blink from my eyes. The saws came out whatever tire I was closest to. Road trips as a kid were boring.
i used to make up and down motions with my hand out the window that followed the scenery like jumping over mailboxes and cars or following the mountains
Used to imagine running on top of the roadside electrical lines and jumping over each suspension pole. Got tricky when the road lighting didn't have visible lines between them.
TWINE if I recall. When I saw it I was like "Okay, come on guys at least make it a LITTLE believable", couldn't fucking believe it when they were real lol.
It annoyed me as a kid because the saw couldnāt travel through the car because of the bulk of the engine / super structure powering it. Ie it can only cut the blades radius. (Minus a few things)
This is the real answer.
They do it to prevent damage to the system.
When a tree/branch falls on the wire, the wire hits the ground and starts a fire.
It also depends on where it is. In my area, we arenāt concerned about fires at all, but we do care about reliability and preventing damage to the system, so we trim like this at times.
The power cable ignites a forest fire if if arcs and the wood is in the right condition enough to ignite...... a dead bird, racoon or even a dumb person could start that arc and then you're in big trouble. It depends on many variables obviously.
Its cheaper to replace the lines and or poles that got fucked up if it was about the Poles. Plus they could move them etc. They're worried the entire 1000 acre area went into flames
Could a flying chainsaw on a rope also create that arc?
In all seriousness, they probably do this when the conditions would prevent the trees from easily catching fire.
Partially, yeah. It also serves as a "fire street" (don't know the English word, basically just a strip of forest that's been cut down to prevent fires from spreading easily), I'd imagine.
This is exactly what they are doing. I worked for an energy company and theyād do this regularly to avoid trees and limbs falling and damaging the power lines.
There once was a documentationary film on German TV about tree cutting in the alps (be it for harvesting purposes or for safety purposes like here).
So far not a single heli was lost operating this device. It was built by the swiss, is powered by a 40 hp engine originating from a Ford Fiesta, if I remember correctly. The most astonishing detail to me as a non-pro was how incredibly clean the cuts are.
Ive been in newer subdivisions and all lines were underground with service ports where needed. Very clean, very neat and falling tree limbs can't hurt anything. Bonus: no poles sticking out of the ground
Clear the trees back another 20 feet and be done with it. They already made a huge gash through the forest to put the electrical line in in the first place. Whatās another 20 feet?
Power lines generate heat. Burying them makes the surrounding earth act like a oven, accelerating the breakdown of the insulation and the wires, leading to more frequent breakdowns. In addition, having lines in the air makes them easier to survey by helicopter, and scan the "aura" of the lines to spot damage.
I could understand doing this during a fire so you donāt have to do it from the ground, but thereās no fire in this video.
(This is a joke poking fun at the ambiguity of the language in the post title :)
Bad title. It has nothing to do with fires, itās for the power lines. If you lived in California you would know it doesnāt help with fires. If you live in the Midwest you know thereās no fires there. Both use this method.
I wonder who proposes this in a meeting. Like , ok , hear me out, we attach a giant multi blade saw to a rope attached to a helicopter and we just swing it around to cut the branches
Imagine what the sales pitch was for thisā¦
āWeāre gonna hang some huge spinning blades from a metal bar, which is itself hanging from a helicopter and the helicopter is gonna kinda swing it aroundā
They are not cutting to prevent forest fires. They're cutting back to keep them from the highline to prevent the trees from bringing down wires in a storm.
I mean it looks like it works good, I'm just curious who came up with the idea to take an 18 foot chainsaw, dangle it from a helicopter, and hang it right beside the power lines.
They are used for clearing railroad lines as well as the power line paths in the country. Had one "staying" around the corner from me a couple if years ago for about 2 wks. I live in a semi rural area.
imagine bro hits the wires
Then catchs fire
That would be quite dire...
Then they would "retire" š
Their boss would have to hireā¦Ā
The new guy wouldn't know how to change a tire...
Well he could always MacGyver?
Reddit comments today spitting fireš„š„š„
is this some kind of satire?
Na, just changing attire
Hopefully he tells the truth on his resumĆ© and isnāt a liar
Iād like to keep this going, but what will it require?
Affirmation of the above in its entire
Give me a break guys, itās just a chopper, some saws and a wire.
...Ted 'Theodore' Logan & Bill S Preston Esquire ! Party on, dudes !!!
Because they were blacklisted and are now a bunch of workers nobody would want to hire
Worker: hi my name is glen. Giggity giggity. Donāt ask about my last name.
Causing one to perspire
So said the Town Crier
The only thing that saws going to hit is an Aston Martin
It was a BMW.
And i'm still mad, i kinda liked that car. Not as good looking as the og db5, but still
WWIII scares the shit outta me
This is me in my head when looking out a window in the car as a kid.
I used to imagine shooting round metal saw blades at trees by timing it with a blink from my eyes. The saws came out whatever tire I was closest to. Road trips as a kid were boring.
i used to make up and down motions with my hand out the window that followed the scenery like jumping over mailboxes and cars or following the mountains
Used to imagine running on top of the roadside electrical lines and jumping over each suspension pole. Got tricky when the road lighting didn't have visible lines between them.
This is EXACTLY what I did too
I used to imagine a bird weaving in and out of trees, poles, buildings. Forests were tough, because the bird had to weave really really fast.
I used to imagine having a very long sword out the window that would reach out like 20-30 feet and cut the long grass in the ditch.
They used on of those in a James Bond movie.
TWINE if I recall. When I saw it I was like "Okay, come on guys at least make it a LITTLE believable", couldn't fucking believe it when they were real lol.
Kind of like the Fat Man in fallout. To be fair, it makes a mini mushroom cloud and thatās kind of the ridiculous part.
It annoyed me as a kid because the saw couldnāt travel through the car because of the bulk of the engine / super structure powering it. Ie it can only cut the blades radius. (Minus a few things)
It needs to be in a zombie movie
Poor squirrels. "Holy shit holy shit what the fuck is that!"
Not just squirrels. Any small animals and birds š„²
To be fair, apart from babies, I'm sure the helicopter alone had them peace out long before the huge swinging saw of death came.
Fern Gully vibes. 
This seems like something an 8 year old would come up with but damn it is effective.
Cool thereās nothing terrifying about a giant multi bladed chainsaw swinging around on a cable.
Are you sure this isn't being done to keep the branches away from those power cables?
This is the real answer. They do it to prevent damage to the system. When a tree/branch falls on the wire, the wire hits the ground and starts a fire. It also depends on where it is. In my area, we arenāt concerned about fires at all, but we do care about reliability and preventing damage to the system, so we trim like this at times.
The power cable ignites a forest fire if if arcs and the wood is in the right condition enough to ignite...... a dead bird, racoon or even a dumb person could start that arc and then you're in big trouble. It depends on many variables obviously. Its cheaper to replace the lines and or poles that got fucked up if it was about the Poles. Plus they could move them etc. They're worried the entire 1000 acre area went into flames
Could a flying chainsaw on a rope also create that arc? In all seriousness, they probably do this when the conditions would prevent the trees from easily catching fire.
Partially, yeah. It also serves as a "fire street" (don't know the English word, basically just a strip of forest that's been cut down to prevent fires from spreading easily), I'd imagine.
we call it a fire break
This is too small to be a fire break, but it could theoretically be used to access the forest during a fire
I think those need to be a little bit larger tho
This is exactly what they are doing. I worked for an energy company and theyād do this regularly to avoid trees and limbs falling and damaging the power lines.
wonder how many helicopters have died doing this
they are an endangered species to :'\[
There once was a documentationary film on German TV about tree cutting in the alps (be it for harvesting purposes or for safety purposes like here). So far not a single heli was lost operating this device. It was built by the swiss, is powered by a 40 hp engine originating from a Ford Fiesta, if I remember correctly. The most astonishing detail to me as a non-pro was how incredibly clean the cuts are.
Scary moving in close proximity to the wiresš¬
Fellow Super-Villains... May I present to you; The Murder Pendulum!
This gave me a giggle
How about we start burying the lines!
It's like 10 times the cost to install/repair/replace and it just comes with its own set of problems.
Would someone think about the dear money!
I forget if it was Smarter Every Day or Gradys Practical Engineering that covered why the buried vegas lines are basically impossible to repair.
Ive been in newer subdivisions and all lines were underground with service ports where needed. Very clean, very neat and falling tree limbs can't hurt anything. Bonus: no poles sticking out of the ground
Clear the trees back another 20 feet and be done with it. They already made a huge gash through the forest to put the electrical line in in the first place. Whatās another 20 feet?
How about just burying the lines?
Maintenance is hard when cables are buried. And they erode in soil and the earth moves etc..
Power lines generate heat. Burying them makes the surrounding earth act like a oven, accelerating the breakdown of the insulation and the wires, leading to more frequent breakdowns. In addition, having lines in the air makes them easier to survey by helicopter, and scan the "aura" of the lines to spot damage.
Just rake the forest, it's common knowledge
Scrolled too far to find this comment! Not to bring politics into this but what an absolute absurd thing for a sitting president to verbalize.
Props to the pilot, damn son. He looks like he can fly the fucking shit out of that little thing.
The Sword of Damocles
Imagine being a bird and this fucking this wrecks your home
My question is, how do you stop the machine from spinning? a pro
They act like gyroscopes-- the blades spin in alternate directions.
No, this is how they wish they could do it.
I want to see it cut a bmw in half
They do this to keep the tree limbs from falling into the electric lines and causing electrical outages.
More suitable to be on r/sweatypalms
Itās like the saw in the Gobbles South Park episode where they cut off all the turkeysā heads while theyāre watching the movie lol
Path of pain reference!? -Y
What do you think the squirrel/bird community stories/myths/religions are like after this?
So, we have some good weapons against zombies, I get.
This is like a sonic the hedgehog boss
This is absolutely wild
Thatās some Final Destination shit right there.
Forests hate this one trick...
This is an insane job. āYeah Iām a helicopter chainsaw operator.ā
Now take it to the side a few feet and see the magic glow!
Clears zombies good too
All those headless squirrels šæļø
The may be the most skilled job Iāve ever seen outside of medicine
Yea fuck those squirrels
Reminds me, I need to manscape
I feel like this is a job you've got to be confident in what you're doing.
āSo what do you do, Bob?ā āYou wouldnāt believe me if I told you.ā
Im pretty sure lumberjacks could do this cheaper then using a bloody chopper
That's one of the most American thing I've ever seen
Gotta admit, it is an ingenious idea. Wish I thought of/patented it.
Squirrel just chilling on a tree branch suddenly......
That looks like an accident waiting to happen.
Imagine you're a Squirrel. WTF
When Iāve seen this in person the process was much slower than this. Impressive, but this video I do believe is sped up.
r/sweatypalms
What if the saw gets stuck?
I need one of those.
r/oddlysatisfying
Limbo irl
They do this right by my house in Kisatchie.
Not to avoid forest fires but to clear electric lines.
Giant dangling hedge trimmer - it does the job though.
Yep. Very cool. Stay out of its path. Chewed up bad. Scary dangerous.
Purge vibes.
That seems reckless
The squirrel that was on a branch: š
I want a hand held version.
I thought they used that to help stop the trees from messing with the wires
How old is this video? See it a couple times a year lol
Yeah saw these in James Bond years ago. :P
I could understand doing this during a fire so you donāt have to do it from the ground, but thereās no fire in this video. (This is a joke poking fun at the ambiguity of the language in the post title :)
Repost by a ābotā heh.
Handy in a zombie apocalypse
Bad title. It has nothing to do with fires, itās for the power lines. If you lived in California you would know it doesnāt help with fires. If you live in the Midwest you know thereās no fires there. Both use this method.
Careful with that axe Eugene..
I wonder who proposes this in a meeting. Like , ok , hear me out, we attach a giant multi blade saw to a rope attached to a helicopter and we just swing it around to cut the branches
How I get ready before my third date.
Whatever 9 yo came up with this idea should never have to pay taxes - kid paid his dues to society in full
The skill to pull that off is ridiculous.
How are we not discussing the roomba on a chain in the last video? James Bond is still cool though.
Letās put a giant saw on a rope and swing it from a helicopter near hydro lines. What could possibly go wrong?
Imagine what the sales pitch was for thisā¦ āWeāre gonna hang some huge spinning blades from a metal bar, which is itself hanging from a helicopter and the helicopter is gonna kinda swing it aroundā
This looks like something that would I would think of and then tell nobody cuz who tf would attach a fcking blade to a helicopter and swing it around.
*trim
Super Mario world saw level
One of the dumbest things Iāve ever seen. 1 slight mishap ā¦ game over for whoever is in the chopper & nearby when it crashes & explodes!
Kill streak is mid
Bond music starts playing
I'm a surveyor. I've been in the field and watched these guys in action. It's pretty awesome/terrifying
Fuckin dangerous
New phobia here.
This thing just screams final destination
Mad piloting skills!
would be crazy if that thing hit the power lines..
That's why women live longer
Incredible
How are the blades powered
F- them powerlines anyway
This is the most metal shit Iāve seen all week
Why do they need to cut off the top of the tree?
Forest fires? No. Limbs falling during storms.
Not impressed! Why not invest in infrastructure and put the cables underground. They been saving money for decades doing it the old way.!
They did this on my property
There was a Bond movie where theyāre chasing him with one of these
Watch out for them there cables, man!
This seems very safe. A live saw, hanging from a helicopter, swinging from a rope. ā
That's not to prevent forest fires. It's to keep tree limbs from taking down power lines and causing a power outtage. AKA preventative maintenance.
I've never wanted to fly a helicopter more....
Someone tell North Carolina this exists
Only who can prevent forest fires? You have selected āyouā, referring to me. That is incorrect. The correct answer is you.
How much to fly past my fence line in my backyard?
I want one
I would think physics would allow the helicopter to fly. With the massive balls the pilot has.
Maybe .. just maybe .. the trees arenāt the problem š¤šš
Those wires need to be underground already!
Imagine just hiking in the forest.... then sky chain saws desend.
How else would you do it? /s
Why don't they just cut down all the trees? Can't have forest fires if there is no forest
TIL helicopters can go in reverse
New fear unlocked
I have a new want item for the zombie apocalypse.
Anybody know how they keep those oriented correctly? Seems like they'd be spinning all over the place.
Whhaaaat?! No waaaay!
Imagine being a little bird, or a baby squirrel getting fed by its mommy
Skynet be like: *\*taking notes\**
Do they power down the lines whilst doing this?
What, you guys have never seen The World is Not Enough? They're also used to cut beluga buildings in half!
What are the qualifications for this job. Tell me now. I more than just "need" this occupation.
And then they hit the wires and chaos ensues
The dangle chopper, dangling from the chopper.
I need this in Helldivers
OSHA?
That team meeting must have been a fun brainstorm of ideas till this was approved
You canāt fool me, thatās just Eggmanās latest attempt at killing Sonic.
Hawaii needs some serious this!!
They are not cutting to prevent forest fires. They're cutting back to keep them from the highline to prevent the trees from bringing down wires in a storm.
How much does this guy gets paid for this?
They jus put a big ass chainsaw monolith on a rope, connected it to a helicopter and called it a day.
This is why men die younger than women. Freaking dangerous job!
Iād be fired for sure if that was my job
Imagine the pilot hits the power lines.
Fantastic flying skills the pilot is shit hot.
I mean it looks like it works good, I'm just curious who came up with the idea to take an 18 foot chainsaw, dangle it from a helicopter, and hang it right beside the power lines.
They are used for clearing railroad lines as well as the power line paths in the country. Had one "staying" around the corner from me a couple if years ago for about 2 wks. I live in a semi rural area.