Aerial Saw Is Boon to Line Trimming

[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

[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

[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.

[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-...

[Tinfoilhat666]

What could go wrong? https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/helicopter-crashes-in-north...

[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

[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.

[therealcamino]

The technology has been around for a while: "American Electric Power (AEP) began contracting the use of the aerial saw in 1986."

[RickJWagner]

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