Ariel Logging- Balloons, Helicopters, or Otherwise.

[Greatwestcam]

Where did this small disaster happen? I went from logging to fixing float planes on the west Coast of Vancouver Island back in the early '80s. By looking at the rear window of the Beaver, I can tell this is an old pic because most companies modified their aircraft to the bigger side windows. Care to name the airline?

It never failed to amaze me that pilots sometimes would hole their floats and would watch helplessly as their A/C slowly turned over and sank. It happened to more than a few machines I was involved with. The smarter guys would try to tie up to something and keep her from going over or take off quickly and get back to base or even beach the bloody thing. I put lots of temporary patches on floats to get them home. The Beaver shown seems to have taken a bit of damage to the float struts by looking at the angle of the float to the wing - something came loose. However, when they finally had it out of the water and heading home, the thing appears to be hanging normally. These mishaps were probably one of the reasons that I got out of fixing float planes.

The Beaver was out of Campbell River spit, believe it was Coval Air? They had a diver in the water hooking it up, put a roll on it to sit right then lifted it out, then sat it down on the road to secure every thing so it wouldn't spin on the way home. This was in Security Bay which is in Boswell Inlet, close to Rivers inlet. Was July 1989. The bay was deadly for planes after the log barge finsihed loading, debrie every where!

 

[jackd]

I remember Coval Air - I'm not sure if they survived their disaster of their Beech 18 crashing and burning on take-off out of Port Hardy. Vancouver Island Air might have swallowed them up. I'm sitting here thinking back and there sure have been alot of fatals in float planes over the last 25 years - especially the last few. I'd hate to have to buy insurance as an operator.

 

[jackd]

Wyssen Balloon Setup.

I heard stories of what was called the "Wyssen show" - which is what they called an experimental set-up they tried at M & B Sproat Lake Division back in the '60s. It was just off of Two Rivers Arm at Sproat Lake and involved a Swiss yarder with a high lift balloon set-up. They even imported a couple of guys from the old country to run the operation. This was not a complete success because one morning after a big storm they came to the setting to find most of the rigging and the balloon had buggered off. During the high winds of the previous evening, supposedly the balloon took off and took lots of rigging with it. Thus ended the experiment - but it went down in Division folklore - I had it described to me many years later. Anybody ever hear about this kind of yarding set-up?

 

[SW Equipment]

I can't believe it would be cost effective to fly logs out like that. Combine labor with fuel and it doesn't equal the value of the timber?

Also, how dangerous is it to fly up there in Alaska? I read somewhere that 80% of all helicopter and plane crashes in the U.S. were in Alaska. Really cool pictures... looks like nice scenery in the summer.

 

[diggerop]

I worked for Erickson Air Crane which is also Canadian Air Crane, i have worked below many of them, all Erickson aircraft have names painted on the nose i have worked with Georgia Peach, Elvis, goliath, and even cgjzk that worked in cali one summer. amazing aircraft that shouldnt fly but do very well they do like theyre 300 gallons of jet A evry hour though.

In recent years a number of Erickson Air Cranes have been working in Australia during our summer months as water bombers fighting bushfires. I know Elvis and Georgia Peach have been here and I heard on the news today that Gypsy Lady is here now or on the way. There may have been others too but these are the one's that I can remember. I'm pretty sure Elvis was the first one maybe about 4 or 5 years ago. If they make the news in any dramatic way I'll make a post here.

 

[tree farmer]

Flying Scotsman logging Eugene Oregon

These pictures were taken in 1987 NE of Eugene in the Cascades. The show was downhill except right off of the landing. Below the balloon you can see the where the In-haul Berger yarder line connects to the haulback Washington yarder. The dropline has Johnson electric chokers for the rigging crews enjoyment. The chokers were color coded so if the turn was to heavy the yarder engineer could drop selected logs.

 

[tree farmer]

Link Belt LS-98

Heres a closeup of a flying log, then logs on the landing. The loading machine was a Link Belt LS-98 and the clean up machine was a John Deere 540. The Berger Yarder then the Washington yarder.

 

[tree farmer]

Choker straightening device

Here we have a shop made cable kink removal device. You would lay the kinky knob end in the device and use your knee to activate the press. The yarder operator thought the addition of a hand valve control was needed to hold extended pressure on the cable to allow smacking it with two hammers on opposite sides at the same time. The hammer trick is to allow the bound up wires to slip back into pre-kink position. From my experience this hammer method is only partially effective, a cork screw is a cork screw. The next pic. is of the landing area and the two yarders

 

[tree farmer]

Balloon logging cont.

Bosses and culls in the first picture The close up is of a cull Douglas fir log which has come from a Hemlock climax forest. What this means is the 677-700 year old firs have been dying and rotting for a long time. Shade tolerant Hemlock have been living in the understory sucking up vital moisture and completely shading the forest floor. Young Douglas Fir trees need direct sunlight from large openings in the forest canopy to grow and thrive. The regeneration of large tracts of Douglas Fir only happens after a major disturbance such as a landslide, or a fire, maybe a volcanic eruption, or my favorite a clearcut. This wood got used by society and the forest got replanted to the proper species thus starting a new cycle of life for the associated wildlife.

 

[TorkelH]

Balloon logging

Tree Farmer, great pics. Seems it is not to many pics of balloon logging available, even if one should think anybody visiting such shows took a lot of pic's...

Here is one picture for this tread, an unused Bohemia Lumber emblem we found in Weyerhaeuser's shop in Springfield, Or.

How is the GT4 project going by the way?

 

[snowpeke]

My heli pictures

Just a few pictures of when I was heli logging! Any body remember these choppers?

 

[HCF]

Sikorsky (spelling?) air cranes I think. Pretty impressive ships from what I've heard. Never worked around them. Great pics.

 

[hvy 1ton]

Erickson Lumber was the largest user of air canes and liked them so much they bought everything to build air cranes from Sikorsky in the early 90's. http://www.ericksonaircrane.com/

 

[BDFT]

Sikorsky S64 Skycranes. I worked around them at Kutzamateen Inlet and Alice Arm north of Prince Rupert in 1979. The Silver Grizzly Timber Company if I remember correctly. I worked on the road crew trying to stay ahead of them building roads, landings, log dumps, etc. They could sure move the wood.

 

[075]

Is anyone still balloon logging? If not what killed it?

 

[gypo]

Yes I do remember Tri eagle

 

[TorkelH]

Is anyone still balloon logging? If not what killed it?

Have you 075 seen some balloon yarding equipment up there on the north part of the Island? The Skyhook Enterprices yarders and other equipment looked very neat when I saw it around 1998 in Cowichan (pic posted another place in this forum), but later I haven't seen or heard about it.

 

[Ryan Rønning]

Is anyone still balloon logging? If not what killed it?

Timber Ridge Forestry out of Alberta is getting in to the Balloon game with a custom setup that is being built by Boeing. I am not sure when they are supposed to start but its part of their Environmentally Sound Logging Practices campaign.

 

[TorkelH]

Timber Ridge Forestry out of Alberta is getting in to the Balloon game with a custom setup that is being built by Boeing. I am not sure when they are supposed to start but its part of their Environmentally Sound Logging Practices campaign.

That was interesting Ryan, post if you find out some more about this!
Here's, by the way, a link to a historical site in Oregon with some nice balloon logging pictures: http://dorenahistoricalsociety.com/tag/sky-hook-enterprises/

 

[075]

Have you 075 seen some balloon yarding equipment up there on the north part of the Island? The Skyhook Enterprices yarders and other equipment looked very neat when I saw it around 1998 in Cowichan (pic posted another place in this forum), but later I haven't seen or heard about it.

No I never have heard of any one balloon logging up here.Looks like it would work good though,Even Heli logging has slowed down to next to nothing around here, costs just to high for the price of the wood.