• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Badass helicopter pilot.

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.
So there's a Christmas tree farm right across the road from me and they harvest using helicopters. It gets pretty loud and the thrill wears off pretty quick. None of the pilots are as swift as that guy.

As for costs for a helicopter vs trekking them out it's a lot cheaper and faster by helicopter. Most tree farms don't have roads going through them it cuts down on growing land. Trees are pretty heavy too so you can't carry many and fatigue sets it. Lastly the trucks used to carry trees have an open top with high walls makes it a perfect to drop in by chopper.

Oh and I've passed that farm on highway 22 a lot its pretty massive about 4 times as big as the farm across from me and that's at least 40 acres if not more.
 
helicopters are used for logging, construction and other industries all the time. despite being super expensive, if it didn't make financial sense nobody would do it.

this kind of thing makes him look like a hero, right up to the point where the obvious happens and he looks like a jackass.
 
The Boston Dangler said:
helicopters are used for logging, construction and other industries all the time. despite being super expensive, if it didn't make financial sense nobody would do it.

this kind of thing makes him look like a hero, right up to the point where the obvious happens and he looks like a pizza.
Click to expand...

FTFY
 
Scarpozzi said:
Cool harvest method...but expensive. If you consider the cost of a helicopter and fuel per hour....it probably takes them 1-1.5 minutes per round trip to harvest unless parked right next to the trees they were harvesting...

It would be far cheaper to do what most lots do and use cheap manual labor to cut and load the trees with trucks and roads.
Click to expand...



So you're their book keeper? You have access to their financials so you know right? Tool.
 
Theb said:
What's the danger?

I should probably mention that this is everything I know about helicopters: people fly around in them.
Click to expand...

Doing anything fast like that just leaves less room for error. Come in too low you might not have enough time to correct and snag the truck or something.

I did an internship at an Aluminum foundry many years ago. They had these mold machines where you had to put both hand on either side of the control box to push the buttons to close the mold. Of course almost everyone just turned that safety feature off so they could produce an extra 3 or 4 pieces per hour. Guy lost his hand that way. The oldest, most experienced guys there never did this, it is not worth it to risk so much for a few extra bucks.
 
Last edited:
So he's a forklift driver. Without the forks. 😛
And it flies.



Scarpozzi said:
Cool harvest method...but expensive. If you consider the cost of a helicopter and fuel per hour....it probably takes them 1-1.5 minutes per round trip to harvest unless parked right next to the trees they were harvesting...

It would be far cheaper to do what most lots do and use cheap manual labor to cut and load the trees with trucks and roads.
Click to expand...
Space used for dirt roads is space that's not being used to grow trees, and that's a few years that that land is not working toward generating revenue; if anything, you might be paying taxes on the acreage. He was hauling a pretty good portion of a trailer-full each time, not just single trees, so each trip's cost gets spread across the entire bundle.


This is probably one of those things that starts out, "Man, this would be awesome if we had a helicopter or something."

The group laughs at the thought.
Later that evening, someone starts doing some math.

After a few months of gathering up a nice buffer of money, they're hiring a helicopter pilot and buying a helicopter.
(Or maybe rent one. If it's not harvest season, it might not get much use.)


And low-wage manual laborers harvesting trees won't get nearly as much easy advertising on Youtube as "Oregon Christmas Tree Harvest With Helicopter. Amazing Pilot!"

Well, I guess if you word it properly...
"Christmas tree harvest: Gateway to the apocalypse? MUST SEE!!!"
 
Last edited:
They harvest cedar shake bolts like that on the Olympic peninsula; it is quite a show.
The logs are isolated with no roads, and they get them out with minimal impact on the forest.
 
rudeguy said:
now I want to play Desert Combat 🙁
Click to expand...

First thing I thought of when I saw the title too. So much skill to make helos go good on that game. My favorite was the Little Bird, but ended up on the Apache a lot more when I found those helo servers. BF2 might have made the helicopters more realistic, but the hacked helos of '42 hold a special place in my heart.
 
After watching the vids I now understand all the Desert Combat talk. Man I miss those days of flying a Hind, Apache, or Little Bird into a hangar and picking up/dropping off people and back out to whatever point needed the most help. Kept those pesky planes from shooting you down as they flew by. Ahh... the days before crappy heat seeker AA missiles and stingers and auto hovering helicopters took over. El Alamein, I miss you.

As for this video like others have said I don't think there is a faster way to harvest a group of trees from A to B like that. First somewhat feasible alternative I can think of would be dragging them with 4 wheelers but that would be less trees per trip and probably destroy them in the process lol. They'd corner the market in some space saving 1/2 trees though that could go flush against your wall. 😉
 
Theb said:
What's the danger?

I should probably mention that this is everything I know about helicopters: people fly around in them.
Click to expand...

Gravity + Extremely volatile reactions to wind + sensitive controls + Low altitude ( time to react before disaster)

Don't make a slight miscalculation. God help you if there's an unexpected gust of wind at the wrong moment.
 
Nintendesert said:
Certified ATOT Helicopter Pilot. :whiste:
Click to expand...

I don't pretend to be. You?

Look at random crashes on YouTube. Be afraid.

Great pilots crash for no particular reason...or nothing more than a gust of wind at the wrong moment while near the ground.

The flying in that video seems unnecessarily risky to me. Lean a *bit* too far or miscalculate your momentum and you lose too much lift...

The pilot appears to be showing off. I would be interested to hear what an actual helicopter pilot says.
 
He's not showing off, he's doing his job. And in this case reward > risk, otherwise they wouldn't be doing it.

I'm a pilot, but not a helicopter pilot so I'm not gonna go into the details of it. We use to have one on the forums but I think he was banned or disappeared long ago.
 
Mutilator said:
He's not showing off, he's doing his job. And in this case reward > risk, otherwise they wouldn't be doing it.
Click to expand...

Yeah. No worker has *ever* done anything risky / stupid. 🙄

The way he demonstrates skill appears to create extreme risk. I think they want that to be obvious in the video. If he was "just doing his job" in a non-risky way, the video wouldn't be interesting at all. Why would they even bother filming from both perspectives for our entertainment unless they were showing off skill and precision at great risk?
 
Last edited:
seriously, that is just how it is done. I have seen it.
There are higher accident rates in hoisting and crop spraying operations, but that is the risk of all low altitude ops.
By slinging the load into the truck that way the pilot is actually minimizing his risk. Hover is not your friend. Momentum is.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top