Crazy Job

I wonder what these guys have to pay for life insurance…if they can get it. Heck of a job but I guess someone has to do it.

You think that's crazy, check this out.

I saw one about the helicopter linemen in a I-MAX theater at Wright Patterson AFB, truly amazing, a great place to visit for anyone that gets the chance.

Talk about pucker-factor!! I'll stick to what I do!

Climbing up on my roof doesn't seem so bad now.

Now I have to go check my blood pressure and dry my sweatty palms

Suposedly they did that the first time over in the middle east. There was a special on them on the old WIngs series that the history channel had. The original crew did not know if they would crash and burn or what . Kind of like the first human to look at a crab and say I think I will try and eat that.

I thought this was something to brag about... not.

That is pretty wild...

I will say though, if you want to get "the pucker factor" check out the hand stands these Russian kids do at about 800 feet up. If you do not have time, just check out the slow motion video at 54 seconds in of the guy grabbing and ungrabbing the i beam.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxA_IYP78DU

For you motorcyclists, check out this Russian kid on a crotch rocket in city streets...you won't have to leave the ground to get scared.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XihQeZpwqpE

And for you truck drivers, check out this crazy Russian truckdriver merrily pulling logs out of the woods.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4BlJsZ3wlk

And no, I did not find these videos out by checking out Russian Mail-Order Brides and their crazy counterparts, I am happily married!

When I was 19, I climbed what is known as a 'counterweight" tower on the Cutler Naval base and freeclimbed back down with a paint scrapper in one hand. It was only 250 ft. or so high. I never got on the big towers, many of my friends did over the years. Some had accidents, my cousin was the first death in 1967. At any rate, the reason I didn't climb more is that when we reached the bottom they handed me a bucket of "wash" in a pail and said I was going to climb back up and come back down the same way, freehand. With a mitt on one hand and the bucket hanging from a rope attached at the belt. I looked back up and said no way. If I can get my hands on something(back then) I would climb anywhere. Tie one behind my back and hang a weight on me and all bets are off.

Kevin

Yep several people fell off those Cutler towers over the years Kevin. Dangerous job that was. I know a couple "survivors" of those things. Didn't know you cousin was the first though. Lot's of you Looks around these parts though. Like the Wood's in my little neck of the errr...woods. As you know I have a horizon view of the towers from my porch. On a foggy day or at night they look like the masts of ships winking in the night.

That is a freaky job and imagine the stress factor on the chopper pilot too! I would not want to be flying that loach so close to those wires/towers either!

Not sure if you were in Maine before the 74 oil embargo. They used to be lit up like christmas trees. The turned off many of them to save energy. I remember playing bball in the navy gym and it was in the 40's in there. Then when Reagan came in they were flush with money and spent it stupidly. Not his fault on how it was spent.

My first cousin Vaughn Stanley fell on one of the tall towers in 1967/68, he fell 90 ft. between the sections about 700 ft. up. No safety gear whatsoever. He was a 19 year old college freshman at UMM. My aunt was livid that I went up at 19 also.
My little more distant cousin Pam Wood(there's that wood name!) was in the "bucket" with the young sailor that was killed on his first day on the job several (10 or more?)years ago. She was extremely lucky to survive. He came down in pieces.
There have been many incidents since the early years. Interestingly, there have been more accidents as more safety regulators and regulations get involved. Rigging can and will fail, Alan Crosmans's nephew was in a fall in one of the Helix houses.(Name for building in center of each array) A lift of some sort failed and he fell about 90 ft. Messed him up pretty good. Blew the settlement on drugs.
Anyways, it was all unnecessary as they were built out of hot dipped galv. in the first place. I couldn't find a spot of rust in 1979 after 20 years in a major salt environment. I worked on a summer bridge maintenance crew and saw plenty of rust on normal painted steel.

Here's nicer closer few of bringing yourself to line potential. Actually something I would love to do someday.

anthony7812 wrote:Here's nicer closer few of bringing yourself to line potential. Actually something I would love to do someday.

I was an industrial electrician and a pilot. But screw that!!! They should not mix. LOL

Oh, why didn't you guys tell me you wanted to know what it was like to climb a tower...thanks to YouTube we can do that as well. Thankfully however, it is a virtual thing.

Here is a very cool video. It is a bit long, but it shows what it is like to climb to the top of a 1700 foot radio tower to change a light bulb. Up until I saw this video, I thought changing the recessed ceiling bulb above my parents stairway was a challenge. In parallel with this climb however, that really is not so bad!

For those that have no time to view the entirety...1:35 seconds in is a great place to see the climber transition into free climb mode, and surprisingly it is allowed by OSHA...that is, no safety harness required. Other quick areas to see are 3:30 to 4:00 minutes in, and around the 7:00 mark.

Enjoy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlVxRdTnNqI