Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
|
Metalworking (rec.crafts.metalworking) Discuss various aspects of working with metal, such as machining, welding, metal joining, screwing, casting, hardening/tempering, blacksmithing/forging, spinning and hammer work, sheet metal work. |
Reply |
|
LinkBack | Thread Tools | Display Modes |
|
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Large red spheres on power lines
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. |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
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. |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
"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 |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
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 |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
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 |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
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. |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
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 |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
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 |
#11
|
|||
|
|||
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 |
#12
|
|||
|
|||
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. |
#13
|
|||
|
|||
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 |
#14
|
|||
|
|||
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 |
#15
|
|||
|
|||
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. |
#16
|
|||
|
|||
"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 |
#17
|
|||
|
|||
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... |
#18
|
|||
|
|||
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 |
#19
|
|||
|
|||
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. |
#20
|
|||
|
|||
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" |
#21
|
|||
|
|||
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... |
#22
|
|||
|
|||
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" |
#23
|
|||
|
|||
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 |
#24
|
|||
|
|||
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 |
Reply |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
pc power supply failure? | Electronics Repair | |||
Power surges | Home Repair | |||
Power cost of idle electric water heater | Home Repair | |||
Old Man Winter Will Hit Us Tonight! | Home Repair | |||
Computer power supply compatiility | Electronics Repair |