A recent powerline fatality and a few near misses of my own got me thinking about what I can do to avoid powerlines.
http://www.havasunews.com/news/coroner-identifies-parker-man-as-victim-in-fatal-aircraft-crash/article_e1129e32-e850-11e2-aa60-0019bb2963f4.html
1) If you approach a powerline, cross it at over the pole, which is a lot easier to see.
2) If you are flying low at powerline altitude (under 30ft AGL) pull in on the bar and carry a lot of extra speed so you can release the bar and pop over if you have to.
3) Realize flying low is risky and be in a heightened alert state of mind when doing so. Don't fly low at all in dim light or low visibility conditions. If you want to be a more relaxed flying experience, go higher.
4) Scan from side to side and look for sun glint on the powerlines.
5) If you flying with other trikes, call out "Powerline" if you see them. Don't assume everyone else have noticed them first.
6) Stay above treetop level unless you have flown the area before and are absolutely sure there are no powerlines.
7) Powerlines need an access road to put them up and maintain them. Beware of all roads and dirt roads in the middle of nowhere.
8) Buildings in the middle of nowhere usually have a powerline going up to them.
9) Be wary of small shallow canyons (50-100 ft deep). Often powerlines will span these canyons.
10) Powerlines are often marked with orange balls that are put there specifically to make them visible to aircraft. Look for them, but realize that most powerlines are not marked.
11) Mark them on your GPS as waypoints in the area around you home airport. On my old Lowrance, I marked them with the skull and crossbones symbol. On my new GPS, I just put a "P" where there are along a river I like to fly along.
That's all I could come up with now, please add to the list.
Jeff
Comments
That's very helpful thanks Jeff.
Awesome Topic, Jeff! I did a little googling to see about what heights we are talking about too.
I'd add:
12) No one guarantees a new power line (legal or illegal (especially in Mexico, etc) won't be added since the last time you flew that area.
13) The support wires of radio antenna masts extend out a distance nearly equal to the height of the mast itself-- even though the tower is usually lit, the wires themselves are nearly impossible to see until too late. (Eye opening PHOTO 2000' tower in North Dakota Remember, the light may just be at the top (2000' up))
FAA requires lighting on towers >200' (not required at 200 feet or below)
I'd modify:
2) ... power line altitude ... under 250' (possibly up to 1250') ...
Give some leeway also for the accuracy of your instrument and altimeter setting, downdrafts, etc.
"Telephone Pole" type: 40' to 120+ feet. The standard utility pole in the United States is about 40 ft (12 m) long and is buried about 6 ft (2 m) in the ground. However, poles can reach heights of 120 ft (37 m) or more to satisfy clearance requirements. They are typically spaced about 125 ft (38 m) apart in urban areas, or about 300 ft (91 m) in rural areas, but distances vary widely based on terrain.
"High Tension" type: 49' to 180+ feet (up to 1215' ): A transmission tower (colloquially termed an electricity pylon in the United Kingdom and parts of Europe, and a hydro tower in certain provinces of Canada where power generation is mainly hydro-electric) is a tall structure, usually a steel lattice tower, used to support an overhead power line. They are used in high-voltage AC and DC systems, and come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Typical height ranges from 15 to 55 metres (49 to 180 ft),[1] though the tallest are the 370 m (1,214 ft) towers of a 2700-metre-long span of Zhoushan Island Overhead Powerline Tie. In addition to steel, other materials may be used, including concrete and wood.
A common 140' tower in Oklahoma
3) ... low visibility (such as into the setting/rising sun (ie the best trike flying times of the day)) [ we could not for the life of us see the power lines we knew were there at Buttonwillow when we flew back toward them VIDEO ]
4A) ... and look for the poles themselves (as mentioned in #1, the pole itself is easier to see- or to say another way, the wire is not easy to see.)
7A) ALL roads have power lines until proven otherwise (this may mean that a field may be safer for an engine out landing than a road where the adjacent power line may not be noticed until the last second)
8) ALL buildings have power lines until proven otherwise.
Thank you Jeff.
Excellent article Jeff another reminder for the low and fast trend.there was an ultralight flyer here a few years ago whom believe it or not got caught in wires stretched across the Clark fork river he got stuck on them bounced off and continued flying.believe it or not.
From another forum:
QUOTE:
Unfortunately we have another gyro hitting another powerline - the pilot and the passenger were killed.
This latest accident happened in France on 8th July in Lozere Department.
Take Care - Height is good.
Steve
http://gyroaccidents.blogspot.co.uk/
Oh crap cburg is flying low really worth it the best way to avoid these accidents is don't fly there.altitude is are Con mies amigos.
Here's another just happened:
Calidus lost in Russia
A Calidus with 2 on board ditched today into a river within Bryansk city. One man survived, another still isn't found from waters. First reports tell that gyro hit powerlines.
__________________
Alex Lameko
Moscow
Russian gyroforum
More:
http://alltrikes.com/elgg/photos/image/30407/there-i-was-flying-along-when-this-thing-almost-killed-me
http://alltrikes.com/elgg/pages/view/30459/passive-detection-systems
Crashing Into Power lines- Perpetuating the Myth
http://www.ispot.tv/ad/7f64/directv-hang-gliding
I saw that ad too. What garbage.
1) that you try hang gliding like you would try a new pair of shoes.
2) that you can hit powerlines and survive.
Well, hitting powerlines is a bad thing regardless and low probability of good outcome, but it's not 100% deadly. "Sparky" a local Hang Glider pilot hit powerlines at Cayucos and survived (interestingly enough, the city eventually toook them down- they ran parallel to the frontage road on our beach landing site). I think that Gibbo also hit powerlines in a trike (in low ceiling conditions) and survived-- had serious injuries though.
I didn't like the ad for the same reason that you didn't either, and just the perpetuation of the worn out and erroneous stereotype that they are "death traps." The quote from "Wedding Crashers" nails the cliche'
Every time a PG is involved in an accident, the news reports it as a hang glider as well- perpetuating the myth, and the latest impression that the one is new and safe and the other remains dangerous.
Sorry, in Slovakian language
http://www.pluska.sk/krimi/domace-krimi/kvetnansky-pade-vrtulnika-nezabudnem-oci-chlapca-ktore-prosili-zivot.html
But they flew near the Vah river and hit a cable. Pilots son (13) died there... March 2013, in Slovak Republic.
That's a very sad story Jozinko: The tragedy destroyed at the time of life for the whole family! Helicopter which flew the famous racing driver John Danis (40), on Sunday evening crashed into the river Vah. The pilot saw the ruins died his son Janko († 13). According to our information, is doing so mentally ill that doctors fear for his life.
The helicopter was headed from Bratislava to Čerenian near Partizanskiy. While flying over the Vah Sered got probably too low, grabbed a steel cable stretched across the river and fell into the water.
The pilot and two adults traveling companion got out of the wreck, however the pilots son Janko remained wedged inside. They dragged him to firefighters, rescue workers were unable to revive him already.
Google Translate converted page- for more of the story and photos
I certainly didn't mean to suggest that crashing into power lines was not a big deal, only that it hasn't always been 100% fatal. I guess the point being honesty in data-- Powerlines are certainly deadly. They scare the hell out of me- very tough to see. Read Jeff Trikes suggestions for Powerline detection and avoidance above-- it is great information!!!
Another this week:
http://www.myfoxla.com/story/25599631/helicopter-crash-in-santa-paula-riverbed-one-person-dead
Darn, sorry Cburg. This is only 1.5 hours south of me-- a somewhat narrow valley corridor. Of course, wires are only 25 to 100 feet tall ... that's an easy enough strategy, No?
Great info above-- I think this informative page by @Jeff_Trike didn't get as much play (or certainly people chipping in with their questions / opinions) as it should. ... Whatcha waiting for? Why not join the conversation with your friends / fellow pilots? ... don't want to learn, don't want to give a friend the chance not to learn the hard way?