I have looked everywhere,

What are the large red speres you see on high tension wires?

One set specifically where I-95 crosses the Connecticut river.

wrote:
I have looked everywhere,

What are the large red speres you see on high tension wires?

One set specifically where I-95 crosses the Connecticut river.

Air Craft Warning!!!

In article .com,
wrote:

I have looked everywhere,

What are the large red speres you see on high tension wires?

One set specifically where I-95 crosses the Connecticut river.


Aircraft warning indicators; an aircraft landing/takeoff zone crosses
the wires at that point. On the river, maybe a sailboat warning of low
wires?

--
Free men own guns, slaves don't
www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/5357/

In article .com,
wrote:

I have looked everywhere,

What are the large red speres you see on high tension wires?

One set specifically where I-95 crosses the Connecticut river.

Depending on location, you can usually translate those big red/orange
balls on a power line to mean one of two things:

AIRMEN! DANGER! PULL UP! THERE ARE WIRES HERE YOU PROBABLY CAN'T SEE!

if there's no water crossing under them. If they're over water, then the
meaning is similar:

SAILORS! DANGER! MAKE SURE YOUR MAST WILL FIT UNDER!


A Cessna clipped a high-tension line on the outskirts of Bay City
Michigan a few years back - According to what came out once the pilot
was IDed, located, arrested, and charged, he was trying to "buzz" a
buddy's house in a rented plane. Fortunately for him, the power line
snapped, so he didn't actually crash, but it was a miracle that he
didn't - When the plane was inspected (after he'd landed and beat-feet
for "anywhere but here" without so much as a word to anyone about the
incident), it was found that the left wing had been very nearly ripped
off the plane. There was a 10 inch gap between the leading edge and the
main fuselage, and near the outboard end of the wing, the clear
impression of the cable - at the bottom of a "valley" mashed almost a
foot deep into the leading edge. How the thing held together long enough
for him to land it is beyond my wildest imagination.

--
Don Bruder - - New Email policy in effect as of Feb. 21, 2004.
Short form: I'm trashing EVERY E-mail that doesn't contain a password in the
subject unless it comes from a "whitelisted" (pre-approved by me) address.
See http://www.sonic.net/~dakidd/main/contact.html for full details.

"Don Bruder" wrote in message
news
In article .com,
wrote:

I have looked everywhere,

What are the large red speres you see on high tension wires?

One set specifically where I-95 crosses the Connecticut river.

Depending on location, you can usually translate those big red/orange
balls on a power line to mean one of two things:

AIRMEN! DANGER! PULL UP! THERE ARE WIRES HERE YOU PROBABLY CAN'T SEE!

if there's no water crossing under them. If they're over water, then the
meaning is similar:

SAILORS! DANGER! MAKE SURE YOUR MAST WILL FIT UNDER!


A Cessna clipped a high-tension line on the outskirts of Bay City
Michigan a few years back - According to what came out once the pilot
was IDed, located, arrested, and charged, he was trying to "buzz" a
buddy's house in a rented plane. Fortunately for him, the power line
snapped, so he didn't actually crash, but it was a miracle that he
didn't - When the plane was inspected (after he'd landed and beat-feet
for "anywhere but here" without so much as a word to anyone about the
incident), it was found that the left wing had been very nearly ripped
off the plane. There was a 10 inch gap between the leading edge and the
main fuselage, and near the outboard end of the wing, the clear
impression of the cable - at the bottom of a "valley" mashed almost a
foot deep into the leading edge. How the thing held together long enough
for him to land it is beyond my wildest imagination.

--
Don Bruder - - New Email policy in effect as of Feb. 21,
2004.
Short form: I'm trashing EVERY E-mail that doesn't contain a password in
the
subject unless it comes from a "whitelisted" (pre-approved by me) address.
See http://www.sonic.net/~dakidd/main/contact.html for full details.

We had some choppers hit those high power trans lines. One line goes over
the cartinez/martinez river. Vallejo, CA 45 miles east of SF. A chopper hit
it, so now those orange balls have been installed. The high towers are
lighted for aircraft warning.

This was about seven years back. PG&E, made an announcement, they where
doing it only for public safety.

xman

aircraft identification markers

wrote in message
oups.com...
I have looked everywhere,

What are the large red speres you see on high tension wires?

One set specifically where I-95 crosses the Connecticut river.

wrote:

I have looked everywhere,

What are the large red speres you see on high tension wires?

One set specifically where I-95 crosses the Connecticut river.

We have some over a valley - near a lake. They are turning white.
Planes and choppers dip out of the lake for local fires.

Martin

--
Martin Eastburn, Barbara Eastburn
@ home at Lion's Lair with our computer
NRA LOH, NRA Life
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder

Helicopter rotor blades and power lines do not mix.

Martin H. Eastburn wrote:

wrote:

I have looked everywhere,

What are the large red speres you see on high tension wires?

One set specifically where I-95 crosses the Connecticut river.

We have some over a valley - near a lake. They are turning white.
Planes and choppers dip out of the lake for local fires.

Martin

They also work for large birds. We have a river crossing where Pelicans seem
to make a habit of flying into the mains, they cause a short and kill
themselves and the power in the area. A few of these balls seems to have
fixed the problem.

regards,,
John
wrote in message
oups.com...
I have looked everywhere,

What are the large red speres you see on high tension wires?

One set specifically where I-95 crosses the Connecticut river.

"john johnson" wrote in
:

They also work for large birds. We have a river crossing where
Pelicans seem to make a habit of flying into the mains, they cause a
short and kill themselves and the power in the area. A few of these
balls seems to have fixed the problem.

regards,,
John
wrote in message
oups.com...
I have looked everywhere,

What are the large red speres you see on high tension wires?

One set specifically where I-95 crosses the Connecticut river.




I've also heard that they (the balls) help dampen the swayof the wires in
high winds.
granpaw

There was a 10 inch gap between the leading edge and the
main fuselage, and near the outboard end of the wing, the clear
impression of the cable - at the bottom of a "valley" mashed almost a

foot deep into the leading edge. How the thing held together long
enough
for him to land it is beyond my wildest imagination.

That first ten inches or so is only thin aluminum skin. The
wing's main spar is located there, and it's thick and massive and would
take out a substantial fencpost if necessary. Striking the wire near
the wingtip would do more damage, as the leverage would pull the wing
back and wrinkle the whole thing.
Those orange markers are often located over pipelines; the light
airplanes and helicopters that regularly patrol the line are often only
100' up and need to see such obstacles. The pilots are watching for any
unauthorized digging along the right-of-way. A few years ago near here
a patroller found a farmer digging with his backhoe right over a large
natural gas main, and had to buzz the hoe several times to scare the
guy off it until a cop, radioed by the pilot, got there to stop him. He
was within a couple of shovelfuls of striking the pipe and blowing
himself up.

Dan

These spheres are the remnants of tofu-eating liberals which Gunner has
carefully placed there as a reminder to us all. He painted them red for
obvious reasons :-)

DJ
wrote in message
oups.com...
I have looked everywhere,

What are the large red speres you see on high tension wires?

One set specifically where I-95 crosses the Connecticut river.

On Thu, 17 Feb 2005 08:47:46 -0700, "Doctor John"
wrote:

These spheres are the remnants of tofu-eating liberals which Gunner has
carefully placed there as a reminder to us all. He painted them red for
obvious reasons :-)

DJ

Auyp..its no longer legal to simply mount their heads on spikes at the
city gates. Something about sanitation or some ridiculous notion such
as that.

Gunner



wrote in message
roups.com...
I have looked everywhere,

What are the large red speres you see on high tension wires?

One set specifically where I-95 crosses the Connecticut river.




Rule #35
"That which does not kill you,
has made a huge tactical error"

On Thu, 17 Feb 2005 17:52:22 GMT, Gunner wrote:
On Thu, 17 Feb 2005 08:47:46 -0700, "Doctor John"
wrote:

These spheres are the remnants of tofu-eating liberals which Gunner has
carefully placed there as a reminder to us all. He painted them red for
obvious reasons :-)

Auyp..its no longer legal to simply mount their heads on spikes at the
city gates. Something about sanitation or some ridiculous notion such
as that.

....damn liberals, messing up yet another tradition...

wrote in message
oups.com...
I have looked everywhere,

What are the large red speres you see on high tension wires?

One set specifically where I-95 crosses the Connecticut river.



http://www.manairco.com/wm.JPG

David Deuchar wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...

I have looked everywhere,

What are the large red speres you see on high tension wires?

One set specifically where I-95 crosses the Connecticut river.




http://www.manairco.com/wm.JPG



'Round here, these folks sell most of the ones I see. Our state
Aeronautics Dept. gave them away to those in need for years. Don't know
if they still do.

http://www.tanawiremarker.com/default.htm

Dale Scroggins

granpaw wrote:

I've also heard that they (the balls) help dampen the swayof the wires in
high winds.
granpaw


No. the things that are used for that are triangular peices of metal
that swing on the wire. They are called ( I think ) vortex sheders.
...lew...

On 17 Feb 2005 18:08:38 GMT, Dave Hinz wrote:

On Thu, 17 Feb 2005 17:52:22 GMT, Gunner wrote:
On Thu, 17 Feb 2005 08:47:46 -0700, "Doctor John"
wrote:

These spheres are the remnants of tofu-eating liberals which Gunner has
carefully placed there as a reminder to us all. He painted them red for
obvious reasons :-)

Auyp..its no longer legal to simply mount their heads on spikes at the
city gates. Something about sanitation or some ridiculous notion such
as that.

...damn liberals, messing up yet another tradition...

The kids were disappointed too. They used to love our Saturday
excursions down to watch the crows and ravens cleaning out the eye
sockets and cleaning off the skulls. We could always tell when spring
was in the air as they would start pulling tufts of hair to build
their nests with.

Gunner

Rule #35
"That which does not kill you,
has made a huge tactical error"

The gas explosion in Edison, NJ a few years ago (36", 800 psi gas main blew
open - Flames were several hundred feet high!) was due (IIRC) to someone
burying a stolen truck next to the main. They had apparently hit the main
with the backhoe and the dent eventually cause the pipe to fail.

--
Bob (Chief Pilot, White Knuckle Airways)


wrote in message
oups.com...
There was a 10 inch gap between the leading edge and the
main fuselage, and near the outboard end of the wing, the clear
impression of the cable - at the bottom of a "valley" mashed almost a

foot deep into the leading edge. How the thing held together long
enough
for him to land it is beyond my wildest imagination.

That first ten inches or so is only thin aluminum skin. The
wing's main spar is located there, and it's thick and massive and would
take out a substantial fencpost if necessary. Striking the wire near
the wingtip would do more damage, as the leverage would pull the wing
back and wrinkle the whole thing.
Those orange markers are often located over pipelines; the light
airplanes and helicopters that regularly patrol the line are often only
100' up and need to see such obstacles. The pilots are watching for any
unauthorized digging along the right-of-way. A few years ago near here
a patroller found a farmer digging with his backhoe right over a large
natural gas main, and had to buzz the hoe several times to scare the
guy off it until a cop, radioed by the pilot, got there to stop him. He
was within a couple of shovelfuls of striking the pipe and blowing
himself up.

Dan

Lew Hartswick wrote:

granpaw wrote:


I've also heard that they (the balls) help dampen the swayof the wires
in high winds.
granpaw



No. the things that are used for that are triangular peices of metal
that swing on the wire. They are called ( I think ) vortex sheders.
...lew...
I've seen those in West Texas. Mars lander on a telephone line :-)

Martin

--
Martin Eastburn, Barbara Eastburn
@ home at Lion's Lair with our computer
NRA LOH, NRA Life
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder

On Thu, 17 Feb 2005 02:14:59 GMT, Don Bruder wrote:

In article .com,
wrote:

I have looked everywhere,

What are the large red speres you see on high tension wires?

One set specifically where I-95 crosses the Connecticut river.

Depending on location, you can usually translate those big red/orange
balls on a power line to mean one of two things:

AIRMEN! DANGER! PULL UP! THERE ARE WIRES HERE YOU PROBABLY CAN'T SEE!

if there's no water crossing under them. If they're over water, then the
meaning is similar:

SAILORS! DANGER! MAKE SURE YOUR MAST WILL FIT UNDER!


A Cessna clipped a high-tension line on the outskirts of Bay City
Michigan a few years back - According to what came out once the pilot
was IDed, located, arrested, and charged, he was trying to "buzz" a
buddy's house in a rented plane. Fortunately for him, the power line
snapped, so he didn't actually crash, but it was a miracle that he
didn't - When the plane was inspected (after he'd landed and beat-feet
for "anywhere but here" without so much as a word to anyone about the
incident), it was found that the left wing had been very nearly ripped
off the plane. There was a 10 inch gap between the leading edge and the
main fuselage, and near the outboard end of the wing, the clear
impression of the cable - at the bottom of a "valley" mashed almost a
foot deep into the leading edge. How the thing held together long enough
for him to land it is beyond my wildest imagination.

Like others have said the spar is the main structure of the wing to
the fuselage. It's common with crop dusters to come back with cuts
from tree branches that go all the way to the spar (usually set in the
first 1/4 of the wing). The A&P would inspect it and then we would
clean the insecticide off with acetone and duct tape it. The critical
leading edges have steel knives on them for cutting power lines and
such. I've often wondered how much the stall characteristics change
from having those.

I've yet to see a crop dusting pilot not duck when going under power
lines and they have even a bigger knife in front of them. What is wild
is plane crash scenes , I'm about up to about 5. I'd love to see a big
plane crash site minus the people parts of course. Better yet getting
a close up tour of flight 799+1 put back together.

After re-reading your description of the plane it sounds like he
should have been stuck up in the lines or died. That plane is a total
loss.

On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 23:25:49 -0800, Sunworshipper
wrote:

On Thu, 17 Feb 2005 02:14:59 GMT, Don Bruder wrote:

In article .com,
wrote:

I have looked everywhere,
snip
Like others have said the spar is the main structure of the wing to
the fuselage. It's common with crop dusters to come back with cuts
from tree branches that go all the way to the spar (usually set in the
first 1/4 of the wing). The A&P would inspect it and then we would
clean the insecticide off with acetone and duct tape it. The critical
leading edges have steel knives on them for cutting power lines and
such. I've often wondered how much the stall characteristics change
from having those.

I've yet to see a crop dusting pilot not duck when going under power
lines and they have even a bigger knife in front of them. What is wild
is plane crash scenes , I'm about up to about 5. I'd love to see a big
plane crash site minus the people parts of course. Better yet getting
a close up tour of flight 799+1 put back together.

After re-reading your description of the plane it sounds like he
should have been stuck up in the lines or died. That plane is a total
loss.

And after the pilot ducked and came through on the deck, I had to hit
the dirt because he flew over me about 3' high. This was my dad, and
I was flagging (before Loran and GPS). Yuk, that spray stunk.

One of our pilots was returning home, felt a slight tug (not good when
you're flying), and looked back to see the messenger wire falling
away. At the same time, the flare went off at a nearby chemical
plant. He had clipped the little messenger wire on a high voltage
line running to the plant with the landing gear, no damage to the
plane. He didn't tell us for a while. I don't know if they ever
figured it out.

One of our cropduster friend's son died flying into high voltage
lines. It stopped the plane, then flipped it back onto the ground.

Pete Keillor

On Sat, 19 Feb 2005 08:55:29 -0500, Peter T. Keillor III
wrote:

On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 23:25:49 -0800, Sunworshipper
wrote:

On Thu, 17 Feb 2005 02:14:59 GMT, Don Bruder wrote:

In article .com,
wrote:

I have looked everywhere,
snip
Like others have said the spar is the main structure of the wing to
the fuselage. It's common with crop dusters to come back with cuts
from tree branches that go all the way to the spar (usually set in the
first 1/4 of the wing). The A&P would inspect it and then we would
clean the insecticide off with acetone and duct tape it. The critical
leading edges have steel knives on them for cutting power lines and
such. I've often wondered how much the stall characteristics change
from having those.

I've yet to see a crop dusting pilot not duck when going under power
lines and they have even a bigger knife in front of them. What is wild
is plane crash scenes , I'm about up to about 5. I'd love to see a big
plane crash site minus the people parts of course. Better yet getting
a close up tour of flight 799+1 put back together.

After re-reading your description of the plane it sounds like he
should have been stuck up in the lines or died. That plane is a total
loss.

Are you missing a line here Pete?
And after the pilot ducked and came through on the deck, I had to hit
the dirt because he flew over me about 3' high. This was my dad, and
I was flagging (before Loran and GPS). Yuk, that spray stunk.

One of our pilots was returning home, felt a slight tug (not good when
you're flying), and looked back to see the messenger wire falling
away. At the same time, the flare went off at a nearby chemical
plant. He had clipped the little messenger wire on a high voltage
line running to the plant with the landing gear, no damage to the
plane. He didn't tell us for a while. I don't know if they ever
figured it out.

One of our cropduster friend's son died flying into high voltage
lines. It stopped the plane, then flipped it back onto the ground.

Pete Keillor

So you had the pleasure of that job also. What was it , counting in
twos to nine which is 18 rows over and over? That's how I learned to
drive, mostly on dirt roads at 90mph. Some fields I'd come back to
fuel the planes and clean the windows and drive back. 12 hours a day
for a whopping $20 a week. I've got lots of stories like cleaning off
that other tobacco from the landing gear and watching them drag the
gear on the reservoirs and throwing up huge rooster tails. Or having
Cokes delivered by parachute and listening to phones line
conversations.

Or the fish out of water starry eyed flopping and ralfing from
methelethelaceketoneparthyon. Or falling asleep when they go back to
fill up baking in the summer heat in the truck and dreaming of some
girl then buzzed by the first plane with spray a flying and the next
plane coming down.

I heard it was the most dangerous job you could have. Wish I could
remember some of the pilots' names , one still owes me $ for back
rubs. My all time favorite was getting blown into the slippery
chemical coated knives of the wing and landing gear while jump
starting the planes. It was probably cause the pilot was ****ed at the
plane and or they thought it was funny, but it ain't no picnic leaning
hard into the changing wind speeds right next to the prop. trying to
unplug the jumper.

Sunshine in the shade

On Sat, 19 Feb 2005 08:28:37 -0800, Sunworshipper
wrote:

On Sat, 19 Feb 2005 08:55:29 -0500, Peter T. Keillor III
wrote:

On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 23:25:49 -0800, Sunworshipper
wrote:

snip
And after the pilot ducked and came through on the deck, I had to hit
the dirt because he flew over me about 3' high. This was my dad, and
I was flagging (before Loran and GPS). Yuk, that spray stunk.

One of our pilots was returning home, felt a slight tug (not good when
you're flying), and looked back to see the messenger wire falling
away. At the same time, the flare went off at a nearby chemical
plant. He had clipped the little messenger wire on a high voltage
line running to the plant with the landing gear, no damage to the
plane. He didn't tell us for a while. I don't know if they ever
figured it out.

One of our cropduster friend's son died flying into high voltage
lines. It stopped the plane, then flipped it back onto the ground.

Pete Keillor

So you had the pleasure of that job also. What was it , counting in
twos to nine which is 18 rows over and over? That's how I learned to
drive, mostly on dirt roads at 90mph. Some fields I'd come back to
fuel the planes and clean the windows and drive back. 12 hours a day
for a whopping $20 a week. I've got lots of stories like cleaning off
that other tobacco from the landing gear and watching them drag the
gear on the reservoirs and throwing up huge rooster tails. Or having
Cokes delivered by parachute and listening to phones line
conversations.

Or the fish out of water starry eyed flopping and ralfing from
methelethelaceketoneparthyon. Or falling asleep when they go back to
fill up baking in the summer heat in the truck and dreaming of some
girl then buzzed by the first plane with spray a flying and the next
plane coming down.

I heard it was the most dangerous job you could have. Wish I could
remember some of the pilots' names , one still owes me $ for back
rubs. My all time favorite was getting blown into the slippery
chemical coated knives of the wing and landing gear while jump
starting the planes. It was probably cause the pilot was ****ed at the
plane and or they thought it was funny, but it ain't no picnic leaning
hard into the changing wind speeds right next to the prop. trying to
unplug the jumper.

Sunshine in the shade

Yup, it brings back memories, not all bad, 14 paces or a chain for
dry, about double that for spray. I've been asleep lying flat on my
back in the rice field (dry) waiting for it to get light enough to
fly. Yeah, the pay sucked, but I got to eat. If we weren't flying we
were driving tractors or shoveling levees.

One of my funniest flagging episodes was when my little brother came
in the house drunk about an hour before we went out to flag one of our
fields. He took the low end, which meant he had to cross through the
woods. He was barefoot and wearing cutoffs when he went through all
the briars, but was feeling no pain. By the time we finished, the
anesthetic was wearing off, and his legs were shredded. Talk about
looking like a sick puppy!

Our plug-ins for the battery cart were behind the wing in the footstep
hole in the fuselage (Ag-Cats), so it wasn't too bad to unplug.

Dad refused to apply methyl parathion. The EPA guys kept promoting it
because of the rapid degradation, but too many pilots were dying.
It's no damn good when you have to use a full face mask and carry an
atropine injector to stay alive while killing some bugs.

Pete Keillor

On Sat, 19 Feb 2005 14:26:42 -0500, Peter T. Keillor III
wrote:

On Sat, 19 Feb 2005 08:28:37 -0800, Sunworshipper
wrote:

On Sat, 19 Feb 2005 08:55:29 -0500, Peter T. Keillor III
wrote:

On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 23:25:49 -0800, Sunworshipper
wrote:

snip
And after the pilot ducked and came through on the deck, I had to hit
the dirt because he flew over me about 3' high. This was my dad, and
I was flagging (before Loran and GPS). Yuk, that spray stunk.

One of our pilots was returning home, felt a slight tug (not good when
you're flying), and looked back to see the messenger wire falling
away. At the same time, the flare went off at a nearby chemical
plant. He had clipped the little messenger wire on a high voltage
line running to the plant with the landing gear, no damage to the
plane. He didn't tell us for a while. I don't know if they ever
figured it out.

One of our cropduster friend's son died flying into high voltage
lines. It stopped the plane, then flipped it back onto the ground.

Pete Keillor

So you had the pleasure of that job also. What was it , counting in
twos to nine which is 18 rows over and over? That's how I learned to
drive, mostly on dirt roads at 90mph. Some fields I'd come back to
fuel the planes and clean the windows and drive back. 12 hours a day
for a whopping $20 a week. I've got lots of stories like cleaning off
that other tobacco from the landing gear and watching them drag the
gear on the reservoirs and throwing up huge rooster tails. Or having
Cokes delivered by parachute and listening to phones line
conversations.

Or the fish out of water starry eyed flopping and ralfing from
methelethelaceketoneparthyon. Or falling asleep when they go back to
fill up baking in the summer heat in the truck and dreaming of some
girl then buzzed by the first plane with spray a flying and the next
plane coming down.

I heard it was the most dangerous job you could have. Wish I could
remember some of the pilots' names , one still owes me $ for back
rubs. My all time favorite was getting blown into the slippery
chemical coated knives of the wing and landing gear while jump
starting the planes. It was probably cause the pilot was ****ed at the
plane and or they thought it was funny, but it ain't no picnic leaning
hard into the changing wind speeds right next to the prop. trying to
unplug the jumper.

Sunshine in the shade

Yup, it brings back memories, not all bad, 14 paces or a chain for
dry, about double that for spray. I've been asleep lying flat on my
back in the rice field (dry) waiting for it to get light enough to
fly. Yeah, the pay sucked, but I got to eat. If we weren't flying we
were driving tractors or shoveling levees.

One of my funniest flagging episodes was when my little brother came
in the house drunk about an hour before we went out to flag one of our
fields. He took the low end, which meant he had to cross through the
woods. He was barefoot and wearing cutoffs when he went through all
the briars, but was feeling no pain. By the time we finished, the
anesthetic was wearing off, and his legs were shredded. Talk about
looking like a sick puppy!

Our plug-ins for the battery cart were behind the wing in the footstep
hole in the fuselage (Ag-Cats), so it wasn't too bad to unplug.

Dad refused to apply methyl parathion. The EPA guys kept promoting it
because of the rapid degradation, but too many pilots were dying.
It's no damn good when you have to use a full face mask and carry an
atropine injector to stay alive while killing some bugs.

Pete Keillor

So that's how its spelled ! I just hate how they make insecticides
smell nice now , the wife has to use the stuff in the house cause I
will not apply it in the house no matter how much she bitches about
ants or spiders. I should have got a jar of that dark purple powder
when I had a chance decades ago. Don't know what it was, but I bet if
you kept it on the property all the bugs would move away.

The worst time that I got exposed I had to jump in a canal to get it
off before it killed me and I recall being worried that I wouldn't be
able to get back up the steep banks in my condition. Can Boll Weevils
swim?

Ag-Cats are cool , I was at a crash site of one of those. Only thing
holding it together was the wires (from the plane) and the pilot broke
his arm. He pulled up into those really big power lines (the ones with
huge metal towers) , took the top half off a tree, chopped clean an
approx. 2.5' Dia. palm tree at its base next to water and upside down
, and then bounced and landed backwards and right side up in the
water. Wasn't his time to go.

Sunworshipper wrote in
:

On Sat, 19 Feb 2005 14:26:42 -0500, Peter T. Keillor III
wrote:

On Sat, 19 Feb 2005 08:28:37 -0800, Sunworshipper
wrote:

On Sat, 19 Feb 2005 08:55:29 -0500, Peter T. Keillor III
wrote:

On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 23:25:49 -0800, Sunworshipper
wrote:

snip
And after the pilot ducked and came through on the deck, I had to hit
the dirt because he flew over me about 3' high. This was my dad, and
I was flagging (before Loran and GPS). Yuk, that spray stunk.

One of our pilots was returning home, felt a slight tug (not good when
you're flying), and looked back to see the messenger wire falling
away. At the same time, the flare went off at a nearby chemical
plant. He had clipped the little messenger wire on a high voltage
line running to the plant with the landing gear, no damage to the
plane. He didn't tell us for a while. I don't know if they ever
figured it out.

One of our cropduster friend's son died flying into high voltage
lines. It stopped the plane, then flipped it back onto the ground.

Pete Keillor

So you had the pleasure of that job also. What was it , counting in
twos to nine which is 18 rows over and over? That's how I learned to
drive, mostly on dirt roads at 90mph. Some fields I'd come back to
fuel the planes and clean the windows and drive back. 12 hours a day
for a whopping $20 a week. I've got lots of stories like cleaning off
that other tobacco from the landing gear and watching them drag the
gear on the reservoirs and throwing up huge rooster tails. Or having
Cokes delivered by parachute and listening to phones line
conversations.

Or the fish out of water starry eyed flopping and ralfing from
methelethelaceketoneparthyon. Or falling asleep when they go back to
fill up baking in the summer heat in the truck and dreaming of some
girl then buzzed by the first plane with spray a flying and the next
plane coming down.

I heard it was the most dangerous job you could have. Wish I could
remember some of the pilots' names , one still owes me $ for back
rubs. My all time favorite was getting blown into the slippery
chemical coated knives of the wing and landing gear while jump
starting the planes. It was probably cause the pilot was ****ed at the
plane and or they thought it was funny, but it ain't no picnic leaning
hard into the changing wind speeds right next to the prop. trying to
unplug the jumper.

Sunshine in the shade

Yup, it brings back memories, not all bad, 14 paces or a chain for
dry, about double that for spray. I've been asleep lying flat on my
back in the rice field (dry) waiting for it to get light enough to
fly. Yeah, the pay sucked, but I got to eat. If we weren't flying we
were driving tractors or shoveling levees.

One of my funniest flagging episodes was when my little brother came
in the house drunk about an hour before we went out to flag one of our
fields. He took the low end, which meant he had to cross through the
woods. He was barefoot and wearing cutoffs when he went through all
the briars, but was feeling no pain. By the time we finished, the
anesthetic was wearing off, and his legs were shredded. Talk about
looking like a sick puppy!

Our plug-ins for the battery cart were behind the wing in the footstep
hole in the fuselage (Ag-Cats), so it wasn't too bad to unplug.

Dad refused to apply methyl parathion. The EPA guys kept promoting it
because of the rapid degradation, but too many pilots were dying.
It's no damn good when you have to use a full face mask and carry an
atropine injector to stay alive while killing some bugs.

Pete Keillor

So that's how its spelled ! I just hate how they make insecticides
smell nice now , the wife has to use the stuff in the house cause I
will not apply it in the house no matter how much she bitches about
ants or spiders. I should have got a jar of that dark purple powder
when I had a chance decades ago. Don't know what it was, but I bet if
you kept it on the property all the bugs would move away.

The worst time that I got exposed I had to jump in a canal to get it
off before it killed me and I recall being worried that I wouldn't be
able to get back up the steep banks in my condition. Can Boll Weevils
swim?

Ag-Cats are cool , I was at a crash site of one of those. Only thing
holding it together was the wires (from the plane) and the pilot broke
his arm. He pulled up into those really big power lines (the ones with
huge metal towers) , took the top half off a tree, chopped clean an
approx. 2.5' Dia. palm tree at its base next to water and upside down
, and then bounced and landed backwards and right side up in the
water. Wasn't his time to go.


Believe it or not back in the late 60s I used to work for a cropduster
flying an AgCat out of a small field in northern wisconsin, we sprayed
mostly potatoes and corn...he'd land on a dirt road out in the field and I
would mix the chemicals by hand!...talk about dumb! up to my elbows in that
crap! he used, among others,malathion. to this day I can smell that stuff.
many times there were spills of the stuff into little creeks and rivers
where we got the water for the mix.
Called a halt to it when I passed out in a truckstop,I stayed there till I
was well enough to travel, then went home, no doctor,no nothing...dumb!
They tell me now (and I believe it) that the chemical used to kill the
potato vines is in reality agent orange.

On Sun, 20 Feb 2005 17:18:31 -0600, granpaw wrote:

Sunworshipper wrote in
:

On Sat, 19 Feb 2005 14:26:42 -0500, Peter T. Keillor III
wrote:

On Sat, 19 Feb 2005 08:28:37 -0800, Sunworshipper
wrote:

On Sat, 19 Feb 2005 08:55:29 -0500, Peter T. Keillor III
wrote:

On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 23:25:49 -0800, Sunworshipper
wrote:

snip
And after the pilot ducked and came through on the deck, I had to hit
the dirt because he flew over me about 3' high. This was my dad, and
I was flagging (before Loran and GPS). Yuk, that spray stunk.

One of our pilots was returning home, felt a slight tug (not good when
you're flying), and looked back to see the messenger wire falling
away. At the same time, the flare went off at a nearby chemical
plant. He had clipped the little messenger wire on a high voltage
line running to the plant with the landing gear, no damage to the
plane. He didn't tell us for a while. I don't know if they ever
figured it out.

One of our cropduster friend's son died flying into high voltage
lines. It stopped the plane, then flipped it back onto the ground.

Pete Keillor

So you had the pleasure of that job also. What was it , counting in
twos to nine which is 18 rows over and over? That's how I learned to
drive, mostly on dirt roads at 90mph. Some fields I'd come back to
fuel the planes and clean the windows and drive back. 12 hours a day
for a whopping $20 a week. I've got lots of stories like cleaning off
that other tobacco from the landing gear and watching them drag the
gear on the reservoirs and throwing up huge rooster tails. Or having
Cokes delivered by parachute and listening to phones line
conversations.

Or the fish out of water starry eyed flopping and ralfing from
methelethelaceketoneparthyon. Or falling asleep when they go back to
fill up baking in the summer heat in the truck and dreaming of some
girl then buzzed by the first plane with spray a flying and the next
plane coming down.

I heard it was the most dangerous job you could have. Wish I could
remember some of the pilots' names , one still owes me $ for back
rubs. My all time favorite was getting blown into the slippery
chemical coated knives of the wing and landing gear while jump
starting the planes. It was probably cause the pilot was ****ed at the
plane and or they thought it was funny, but it ain't no picnic leaning
hard into the changing wind speeds right next to the prop. trying to
unplug the jumper.

Sunshine in the shade

Yup, it brings back memories, not all bad, 14 paces or a chain for
dry, about double that for spray. I've been asleep lying flat on my
back in the rice field (dry) waiting for it to get light enough to
fly. Yeah, the pay sucked, but I got to eat. If we weren't flying we
were driving tractors or shoveling levees.

One of my funniest flagging episodes was when my little brother came
in the house drunk about an hour before we went out to flag one of our
fields. He took the low end, which meant he had to cross through the
woods. He was barefoot and wearing cutoffs when he went through all
the briars, but was feeling no pain. By the time we finished, the
anesthetic was wearing off, and his legs were shredded. Talk about
looking like a sick puppy!

Our plug-ins for the battery cart were behind the wing in the footstep
hole in the fuselage (Ag-Cats), so it wasn't too bad to unplug.

Dad refused to apply methyl parathion. The EPA guys kept promoting it
because of the rapid degradation, but too many pilots were dying.
It's no damn good when you have to use a full face mask and carry an
atropine injector to stay alive while killing some bugs.

Pete Keillor

So that's how its spelled ! I just hate how they make insecticides
smell nice now , the wife has to use the stuff in the house cause I
will not apply it in the house no matter how much she bitches about
ants or spiders. I should have got a jar of that dark purple powder
when I had a chance decades ago. Don't know what it was, but I bet if
you kept it on the property all the bugs would move away.

The worst time that I got exposed I had to jump in a canal to get it
off before it killed me and I recall being worried that I wouldn't be
able to get back up the steep banks in my condition. Can Boll Weevils
swim?

Ag-Cats are cool , I was at a crash site of one of those. Only thing
holding it together was the wires (from the plane) and the pilot broke
his arm. He pulled up into those really big power lines (the ones with
huge metal towers) , took the top half off a tree, chopped clean an
approx. 2.5' Dia. palm tree at its base next to water and upside down
, and then bounced and landed backwards and right side up in the
water. Wasn't his time to go.


Believe it or not back in the late 60s I used to work for a cropduster
flying an AgCat out of a small field in northern wisconsin, we sprayed
mostly potatoes and corn...he'd land on a dirt road out in the field and I
would mix the chemicals by hand!...talk about dumb! up to my elbows in that
crap! he used, among others,malathion. to this day I can smell that stuff.
many times there were spills of the stuff into little creeks and rivers
where we got the water for the mix.
Called a halt to it when I passed out in a truckstop,I stayed there till I
was well enough to travel, then went home, no doctor,no nothing...dumb!
They tell me now (and I believe it) that the chemical used to kill the
potato vines is in reality agent orange.

And yet, we're all still around talking about it. For the record,
malathion stinks like hell, but it's not that toxic. It's still used
around populated areas for mosquito control. Sevin was o.k.,
malathion, Stam for grass in rice, 2,4,5 T for broadleaf weeds.
That's probably what you used for potato vines. Agent Orange
contained 2,4,5 T (2,4,5 trichlorophenoxyacetic acid), 2,4 D (2,4
dichlorophenoxyacetic acid), and other stuff. It was basically
unrefined. I think the "other stuff" may have been nastier.

One of the worst for aquatics, finally banned, was toxaphene. It
never broke down, but once the emulsifiers dried up was extremely
insoluble, and therefore inert. Absolute death to fish, crabs, etc
until it dried, though.

Sunworshipper, if I'm ever out that way, I'll buy a few beers, and we
can reminisce.

Pete Keillor

Believe it or not back in the late 60s I used to work for a cropduster
flying an AgCat out of a small field in northern wisconsin, we sprayed
mostly potatoes and corn...he'd land on a dirt road out in the field and I
would mix the chemicals by hand!...talk about dumb! up to my elbows in that
crap! he used, among others,malathion. to this day I can smell that stuff.
many times there were spills of the stuff into little creeks and rivers
where we got the water for the mix.
Called a halt to it when I passed out in a truckstop,I stayed there till I
was well enough to travel, then went home, no doctor,no nothing...dumb!
They tell me now (and I believe it) that the chemical used to kill the
potato vines is in reality agent orange.

gp , I've heard stories like that back in the DDT days.

And yet, we're all still around talking about it. For the record,
malathion stinks like hell, but it's not that toxic. It's still used
around populated areas for mosquito control. Sevin was o.k.,
malathion, Stam for grass in rice, 2,4,5 T for broadleaf weeds.
That's probably what you used for potato vines. Agent Orange
contained 2,4,5 T (2,4,5 trichlorophenoxyacetic acid), 2,4 D (2,4
dichlorophenoxyacetic acid), and other stuff. It was basically
unrefined. I think the "other stuff" may have been nastier.

One of the worst for aquatics, finally banned, was toxaphene. It
never broke down, but once the emulsifiers dried up was extremely
insoluble, and therefore inert. Absolute death to fish, crabs, etc
until it dried, though.

Sunworshipper, if I'm ever out that way, I'll buy a few beers, and we
can reminisce.

Pete Keillor

NP I've met 3 of you so far. Had to keep one eye open at Gunner's.
Plus , I kind of got use to cheap beer so you won't have to worry
about the cost. I'm sure its commonly known now that AO was used just
to photograph the forest floor. That's got to be some nasty stuff to
kill a rain forest.

Has anyone invented a machine to pick un-defoliated cotton yet ? It
has always bugged me how its grown then killed just to get the fussy
parts off, sure seem like hardy plants before they get the axe.

Oh, one more thing Pete (you seem to know this stuff) what is the blue
or green liquid stuff , has a name or smells like salt water to kill
cotton? Wish I could have taken a chemistry and Latin class, boy that
would sure get some looks in school. 'He must be sick.'

On Sun, 20 Feb 2005 17:34:20 -0800, Sunworshipper
wrote:


Believe it or not back in the late 60s I used to work for a cropduster
flying an AgCat out of a small field in northern wisconsin, we sprayed
mostly potatoes and corn...he'd land on a dirt road out in the field and I
would mix the chemicals by hand!...talk about dumb! up to my elbows in that
crap! he used, among others,malathion. to this day I can smell that stuff.
many times there were spills of the stuff into little creeks and rivers
where we got the water for the mix.
Called a halt to it when I passed out in a truckstop,I stayed there till I
was well enough to travel, then went home, no doctor,no nothing...dumb!
They tell me now (and I believe it) that the chemical used to kill the
potato vines is in reality agent orange.

gp , I've heard stories like that back in the DDT days.

And yet, we're all still around talking about it. For the record,
malathion stinks like hell, but it's not that toxic. It's still used
around populated areas for mosquito control. Sevin was o.k.,
malathion, Stam for grass in rice, 2,4,5 T for broadleaf weeds.
That's probably what you used for potato vines. Agent Orange
contained 2,4,5 T (2,4,5 trichlorophenoxyacetic acid), 2,4 D (2,4
dichlorophenoxyacetic acid), and other stuff. It was basically
unrefined. I think the "other stuff" may have been nastier.

One of the worst for aquatics, finally banned, was toxaphene. It
never broke down, but once the emulsifiers dried up was extremely
insoluble, and therefore inert. Absolute death to fish, crabs, etc
until it dried, though.

Sunworshipper, if I'm ever out that way, I'll buy a few beers, and we
can reminisce.

Pete Keillor

NP I've met 3 of you so far. Had to keep one eye open at Gunner's.
Plus , I kind of got use to cheap beer so you won't have to worry
about the cost. I'm sure its commonly known now that AO was used just
to photograph the forest floor. That's got to be some nasty stuff to
kill a rain forest.

Has anyone invented a machine to pick un-defoliated cotton yet ? It
has always bugged me how its grown then killed just to get the fussy
parts off, sure seem like hardy plants before they get the axe.

Oh, one more thing Pete (you seem to know this stuff) what is the blue
or green liquid stuff , has a name or smells like salt water to kill
cotton? Wish I could have taken a chemistry and Latin class, boy that
would sure get some looks in school. 'He must be sick.'

Beats me, I don't know anything about cotton. We mostly worked with
rice (I do have a degree in chemistry, but it was a long time ago). I
believe I did hear from a fellow I worked with that sodium chorate was
used as well as amine salts. Chlorates are strong oxidizers, and
might make a fire hazard. Amine salts and amines in general can be
nasty.

One of our pilots would work the cotton defoliant season which came
later than the rice harvest. He talked about full section fields in
the Texas panhandle, and flying until he was totally exhausted, like
30 days straight. Man, I was cured of wanting to be a crop duster
early. The hours are a killer.

Pete Keillor