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Chopper saw

Ohiosam

*Supporting Member*
11,708
191
Mahoning Co.
I never heard of these. Wouldn't mind borrowing it for a day or two.



SALEM - Area residents didn't see Superman or an alien craft in the sky overhead Wednesday and Thursday, but they did see an unidentified flying object - a helicopter toting what appeared to be a giant saw.

The temporary phenomenon turned out to not be so unusual after First Energy officials explained it's just part of Ohio Edison's vegetation management program along the company's high-voltage transmission lines.

"The idea is it's a very efficient way to get a lot of work done and there are no impacts with accessibility," First Energy spokesman Mark Durbin said.

This was the first time the company used this method for tree trimming in the area, but he said First Energy has been using Aerial Solutions Inc. headquartered in North Carolina for 25 years, mostly in Pennsylvania and areas where transmission lines are hard to reach.

The saw consists of multiple 24-inch blades powered by a motor located near the helicopter and controlled from inside the aircraft. The helicopter flys "slow and low" and cuts off tree branches sticking out into the right-of-way, Durbin said. He said they can protect the land from damage from a lot of trucks and use this method in environmentally-sensitive areas.

He said it's safe and very reliable. Typically, he said when they do any type of trimming in the corridor, which they have under easement, they just leave the vegetation where it drops. They would, however, remove it from someone's yard. If someone has an issue with tree trimming, he said they just need to call customer service.

Cunningham Road resident Deborah Webb said she did just that after debris and branches landed in her yard when the helicopter with a saw attached was trimming trees at 7 a.m. Thursday. She sent copies of the photos she took to the Salem News and said she received no notification that any work would be done in the area.

At first, she wasn't sure what she was seeing. The helicopter came out of nowhere and was dragging something, went in the woods area and started cutting.

"It was odd. Made sense after I saw them trimming trees with it," she said.

Salem Police Lt. Don Beeson said he and another officer saw the helicopter Wednesday afternoon, but didn't know who it was or what they were doing. He said nobody talked to them about anything.

Perry Township Police Chief Mike Emigh said nobody called him about any work being done, either. He said that Chesapeake is using helicopters to transport some equipment to area drill sites, but once he saw the photo, he knew it was a helicopter crew using an aerial saw to trim trees near the power lines.

Durbin said the program calls for the power company to notify people around the corridor that work will be done. When told that one resident and police officials said they didn't know what was happening, he said he would check on the notification process.

First Energy Area Manager David Turner said the company's practice was to make notifications about future work in January or February in one of three ways to properties located in the corridor, either with a door card, in person or by phone. He said the person might not have been home when the notification was attempted or the card may have gotten blown away or lost.

He also said they contact the service director of the community involved and the police chief to let them know the work is being done. Just recently, a representative of First Energy contacted city Service/Safety Director Ken Kenst about tree trimming work planned for next summer and also spoke to the Salem News, but the representative didn't talk about this summer or the helicopters.

Turner said First Energy's job is to be more customer centric and to notify customers about what the company is doing. He said whenever they get feedback, they look at what they're doing and in this case, they'll re-examine the notification process. He said the company contracts with Asplundh for tree trimming and Asplundh contracts with Aerial Solutions.
 

jagermeister

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
18,060
223
Ohio
They cleaned up the power line right-of-way behind my mom's place last year with one of these. It was amazing to say the least...
 

"J"

Git Off My Lawn
Supporting Member
56,743
274
North Carolina
Wow, right in the back yard too.... Unfortunately I didn't see this flying around..... I did see some helicopters ferrying equipment too some of the drill sights though over Guilford lake a while back.... Thanks for posting this Sam.....
 

cotty16

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
5 or 6 years ago during the prime rut one of them fuggers flew over me for 2 days cutting trees along the powerline right by where I was hunting. Needless to say I didn't see shit for both days and he ruined November 11th and 12th for me.
It didn't matter if I moved either because all of my stands were within 2 or 3 miles of each other and it was just as loud at either place. I'm talking, LOUD!
 

Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
38,841
260
AEP uses them to in Southern Ohio and WV for their transmission line trimming.. Here is a close up of the head.