A Climber’s Perspective – Stacking of a 490′ Self-Supporting Tower via helicopter
An evening pause: The tower is in Watts, Oklahoma. When the lineman looks to his right he is looking at the helicopter, which for the first few minutes, before it rises above the horizon, is difficult to see.
Hat tip Wayne DeVette.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
These guys are probably making a dollar to every seventy-seven cents a female receptionist makes. UNFAIR! /s
All joking aside, this was fascinating and these guys, including the pilot, are some serious bad asses.
Just…NO. That made me physically queasy just watching the first few minutes. No way I could watch the whole thing, so I just kind of skipped through it. You couldn’t get me to climb that thing for less than about 20 million dollars, tax-free. I’ve designed and helped erect some medium-large filter structures (6-story office-building-size) and never had a problem with heights, but knowing how that thing must be waving around in the wind until they get the final guy wires in place would be just too much.
Whatever it is they pay those guys, it’s not enough.
Our dad fought in WWII, Korea and Vietnam as a pilot. G-d brought him home each time. While he would fly up to the heavens, he was afraid of heights. He did not like climbing up a tree, or a rollercoaster. Put him in a plane, he loved it. Seeing those workers so high up made me wonder if they have any small parachute gear. Dad said that there are two kinds of people that jump out of airplanes: idiots, and people in the armed services. Even if his airplane engine(s) failed, if he still had two wings, he was taking the plane down.
Ronaldus Magnus: Having done a lot of cave exploration, which relies a great deal on vertical rope techniques similar to the ones these workers are using, I can tell you that they are quite safe. Parachutes are the last thing they want.
The gear involves harnesses with multiple slings attached, each with a carabiner at the other end. You attach the biners to attachment points on the tower (put there in construction for this very purpose). If you need to change position you unclip alternate biners so that one is always clipped to the tower.
I have actually done vertical practice on towers like this that is far more complex, though never quite so high. It is perfectly safe, but requires one to focus very hard on the task in front of you. Only while taking a break is it wise to enjoy the view.
I can tell you from experience that climbers are worth every nickle. When I built my 100′ tower for my Ham Radio antenna, it was worth hiring professional climbers. Getting guys to work the ground crew is cheap (mostly pizza and beer), but these guys you will paying hundreds of dollars an hour.
I have heard and unfortunately seen on video Hams who have climbed towers without harnesses/safety restraints fall and die. I know there are fellow Hams here, please hire a professional to climb the towers. And to those guys who say “It is only 20′ tall”, get a bucket truck, it does not take much to fall and die. There, I am off my soapbox (taking off my harness ;) )
Blackwing1–
“Entry-Level Steeplejack, 7, 8, E9 (Mackinaw Bridge, Michigan)
https://www.mlive.com/news/2024/09/want-to-climb-the-mackinac-bridge-and-get-paid-check-out-this-steeplejack-job.html
Salary Range: $21.42 – $32.63
Mackinac Bridge Cable Light Changing
With Mike Rowe (2013)
https://youtu.be/zmQgQr9t3kQ
2:35
“Worry about What you’re doing, not How you’re doing it.”
Wayne:
I can’t thank you enough for that Mike Rowe video; my stomach is still twisting a little.
Get me up there?
Nope. Nope, nope, noppitty-nope. Huh-uh, ain’t a-gonna happen.
But I am glad that there are people who are crazy enough to do it.