
Aerial Saw Is Boon to Line Trimming - akehrer
https://www.tdworld.com/vegetation-management/aerial-saw-boon-line-trimming
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taylorfinley
I thought this link was going to be about Mr. Choppy, the drone-mounted power
saw designed to cut power lines (for instigating coups, naturally) that Chris
Rock showed off[0] in his DEF CON 24 talk, 'How To Overthrow a Government.'

If you've not seen this amazing talk I can't recommend it enough.

[0][https://youtu.be/m1lhGqNCZlA?t=1824](https://youtu.be/m1lhGqNCZlA?t=1824)

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cyberferret
Watching this in action, as well as some other sling load pilots working away
[0], I am amazed as the skill and dexterity that they can handle their flying
machines and use physics to best effect.

When you consider that I heard a veteran chopper pilot once say that flying a
chopper was like "balancing a dinner plate on a ball bearing", then these guys
and gals are next level aviators!

[0] -
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08K_aEajzNA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08K_aEajzNA)

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JshWright
I am not a pilot (of anything, let alone helicopters), but sometimes movement
and inertia make things easier, not harder.

In an unstable system, the hardest thing to do is to maintain a constant
position. Once you introduce some momentum, that adds some stability.

Certainly there are dozens of reasons why this is harder than "regular"
flying, but I think physics may actually be in the pilot's side here.

~~~
cyberferret
I _am_ a pilot (fixed wing, not helos), and while you can use physics to
assist, there are a myriad of other variables in play such as wind currents,
turbulence, air density, temperature, delays in throttle response, fatigue,
visibility and visual obstructions, effects of constant g-force changes etc.
etc. etc which are always changing the conditions and responses around you.

Swing loading like that can also cause problems with instability due to
harmonic resonance. Plus other issues like differing weight of the loads, how
securely the loads have been packed, whether the release catch works when the
pilot dumps the load in the truck, or the load comes loose halfway through the
loop etc. can turn a smooth ballet into a catastrophic scenario in short
order.

It is a bit like saying that if someone can juggle 3 balls, then they should
be able to easily juggle 6 balls because - inertia.

~~~
JshWright
> It is a bit like saying that if someone can juggle 3 balls, then they should
> be able to easily juggle 6 balls because - inertia.

It's not at all like that... Adding more balls doesn't increase the inertia of
the existing balls, it purely adds complexity.

I'm not suggesting this is easier. As I said, there are dozens of complexities
it adds (like you outlined). It also means the margins get a lot tighter, and
the consequences for exceeding those margins are a lot more significant.

My point was just that the added inertia is one of the things that actually
reduces a few variables. The system is inherently unstable, and one of the
ways to counter that is to constantly "push" it in one direction, so it
doesn't more in an unexpected direction.

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drtillberg
I didn't see any mention in the article of how the aerial saw can perform
precision pruning that I've always thought was the difference between trimming
and maiming the trees.[1]. It's just a messy wilderness technique, I guess.

[1] [https://www.preservationtree.com/blog/top-five-tree-
pruning-...](https://www.preservationtree.com/blog/top-five-tree-pruning-
trimming-mistakes)

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Tinfoilhat666
What could go wrong? [https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/helicopter-crashes-in-
north...](https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/helicopter-crashes-in-north-
georgia-1-person-rushed-to-hospital/92762615)

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rpeden
It's really interesting to watch video of these saws in action, cutting
through trees like a hot knife through butter:

[https://youtu.be/Pla06PO6Odk](https://youtu.be/Pla06PO6Odk)

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prepend
Is this a factor of decreased costs in prototyping? So specialized tools
become cheaper to test? And cheaper to manufacture in small batches?

I can’t wait to see this featured in Expendables 4.

~~~
paragraft
If you want to see them in a film then the Bond film The World Is Not Enough
is for you.

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RickJWagner
Wow. How did the horror movie writers miss this one so far?

