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Working the National 1300A
- Thread starter Natman
- Start date
colson04
Senior Member
Wow, that led me down quite the rabbit hole of researching kit planes, and other planes, getting my pilots license, etc etc etc
skyking1
Senior Member
Your plane is perfect for what you do and how you use it, for your personal strip and those off-airport landings you like to make. You would have to spend high dollars to get a production plane that wouldn't do it as well anyway.
I am getting a bunch of work on real long buildings, this storage shed was 120' by 50', got two more 120'ers (unrelated) plus a big "meditation center" to do in the next couple weeks. Plus the usual residential work. I had to move twice, could have done it in one move but I shorted myself, but it worked out better due to where the trusses were, and the wind direction. As I told the guy on the tagline, it's hard to push on a rope.
I did something today I very rarely, almost never, do, turned down work! This meditation center building (don't ask me what that is, don't know) is in a resort area on the other side of the mountain range I live on, 8 miles away by air, 45 minute drive via boom truck. After the third time they re-scheduled on short notice (no reason other then they didn't have their act together, yet) I texted them back today "I'm overbooked, get someone else, sorry." Man that felt good! No regrets, those days are already filled with much more "enjoyable" type work, working on a hangar at an airstrip for a pilot for one thing. I got the impression there were going to be a lot of volunteer labor on this job, and just had a feeling.....it could get dangerous for all involved. Big span trusses, vaulted no less, lots of them, tall walls, truss stacks far away, on a hillside, etc., etc. I will sneak fly over in a few days and see who took on the job, I wish them well.
I had a 70' 3 legged tower, non guyed, to take down yesterday, weight unknown but I estimated about 3K. A strong gusty wind, more then 20, less then 30, call it 25 mph, and a direct crosswind to the boom with no other setup options. After a bit of mental waffling, I told my customers, a husband and wife team ( the first female tower monkey I've worked with, blonde no less, and they being married I was able to overhear their squabbling once they were up top, pretty funny) that I was reluctantly going to pass on the job. But then they mentioned that the plan was to break it down into 20' sections anyway so they could haul it to the scrappers, so the game was back on. They geared up and scampered to the top, and we pulled the first 10' section down, then a 20', and the last 40' in one piece. No drama, no sideloading the boom, and rather then them being annoyed I didn't want to take it down in one piece, they tipped me $100.00! I've gotten some tips before, but never a hundred bucks, what a fun profession I have lucked into.
They had closed one lane of a busy local street, but the traffic control guys were not pros, (we have a good outfit in town that I have worked with before) but turned out to be just grunts of the construction outfit I was doing the pick for. Poorly marked, way too close to my outriggers, I hauled more marker barrels over myself to partially solve that. It was 9 at night, and snowing heavily. I was there to lift the 15 K trench box out of the hole, and put it on a lowboy. Earlier that day, the contractor assured me it'd be broken down to 6 pcs., with the heaviest being 6 K or so, so I showed up rigged with my usual one part line. It was still all in one piece, and I waited while an excavator tried to separate it, just putting a bigger bind on it, so then it came to me to lift it, to unbind it. I pulled up to my 7500 single part line limit, and then a bit more, and that didn't do anything, it was bound up. That's when I told them I'd have to rig for a two part line, and if they would have had the thing separated as planned it wouldn't be necessary and that's why I showed up rigged for a single part line. So, I drop the boom in the only area I had available, forcing me to climb into and out of the slippery trench, after getting my load block out, all while being blinded by the works lights and the heavy snow and wind continued. Just as I'm reeving the block, the contractor comes over and tells me we are getting shut down, the head honchos on the project wanted to see my CCO card, a lift plan, and a diagram showing how my tail swing wouldn't get in the way of traffic (all they had to do was look, it doesn't). I said, "OK, climbed back across the trench, put the load block away, caged the boom, sucked in the outriggers, got my CCO card out of my wallet and walked over to the two guys and showed it to them, and said "you guys have a nice night now, and good luck with your project," and drove off. While I was doing this the contractor asked about the next night, I just told him I was busy, he called twice today and I didn't pick up. I don't mind filling out a lift plan, but to get it sprung on me, in a snowstorm, at night, with cars whizzing by too close, nah. Plus the low boy had a bunch of crap already on it, which would had forced me to reach over it and maybe out of my chart, everything was screwed up, I have no regrets in driving off, in fact it felt good! I took my ball and went home.
John Griffin
Senior Member
Sounds like a real **** show. And a good way to get hurt. I hope you billed them for showing up, setting up, and trying to lift the whole thing.
Quick_Mick
Member
Amateur hour, Most guys that have ever worked around trench boxes at all can break them down fairly quickly. Forks on a loader or skytrak to load the pieces. Though these guys may not have had the room for that operation.
skyking1
Senior Member
It's OK if the general wants to take control of a lift, but they need to do that from the get-go. Asking for docs and all that in the middle of work was a good sign to drive away.
crane operator
Senior Member
I had a "retired boilermaker" send me a email the other day. It had two lines and a distance on it. He was going to write out all the lift plans and make out the JSA for the whole crew. He was going to do all the legwork so I didn't even have to visit the site- my hypotenuse would be 100'. After he listed off the 14 different 3 letter cards he had in his pocket, I had the full info on what kind of a job it was going to be. 
My lift plans that get written after I show up at a jobsite, are the most vague lift plans ever written, and I sign and date them. If they aren't happy with my vague numbers, the safety man can make up his own numbers. I don't mind making lift plans- if I know about them before. Invariably, the actual work rarely resembles the lift plans that were written.
My lift plans that get written after I show up at a jobsite, are the most vague lift plans ever written, and I sign and date them. If they aren't happy with my vague numbers, the safety man can make up his own numbers. I don't mind making lift plans- if I know about them before. Invariably, the actual work rarely resembles the lift plans that were written.
Pulling wall forms out of a concrete water tank being built from a out of town outfit, I was given a heads up the day before that a lift plan would be required, cert card, etc. NO PROBLEM, except I didn't know what I was picking, or how far away. After showing the super my CCO card and my annual inspection placard, we did the lift plan in less then 5 minutes. Then I lifted the deck/roof forms in, and I see when I flew over the other day they got it done, I will be heading back there to pull them out in a few days.
The camera will come in handy for working thru that access hole. I never did tell my "signal guy" (he was a joke at that but a nice kid,) I had the camera. After setting the overflow pipe directly (+- a couple inches) onto the drain from 60' away, with no line of sight, and with NO signals from him, he probably thought I was some kind of ninja operator. We had some rain, so I flew back Sunday (beats driving, a lot) to check the soil conditions.
The camera will come in handy for working thru that access hole. I never did tell my "signal guy" (he was a joke at that but a nice kid,) I had the camera. After setting the overflow pipe directly (+- a couple inches) onto the drain from 60' away, with no line of sight, and with NO signals from him, he probably thought I was some kind of ninja operator. We had some rain, so I flew back Sunday (beats driving, a lot) to check the soil conditions.
Guy I know has a few of his own cranes, said he was on a job ready to set an ac unit. Everything was ready to go when the safety lady showed up and asked about his lift plan. His response. “Well, my plan is to lift this here unit onto that there roof.
Every time I hear lift plan, I think of him telling me that story and I have to chuckle.
Every time I hear lift plan, I think of him telling me that story and I have to chuckle.
My camera has some kind of light enhancing ability, the pic inside the tank is one example. Late yesterday we were hustling to set the last of the trusses before it got dark, and in my camera view it looked like 2 in the afternoon, while my eyeballs saw "darn near dark, real dusky. " This is a surprise, also the few times I've been caught out in snow or rain (it's not waterproof or even intended for outdoor use), it didn't bother it. At less then $150.00 I have more then gotten my money's worth out of this one already, and should probably get another in stock just in case, as the biggest issue of having this system is it has spoiled me.
This is another job I was able to fly into first, but since it was at an actual airstrip, it doesn't count, too easy! A new hangar going up, we used the welded in pad eyes on the trusses to rig to, that's why they are where they are we figured. Once both ends were bolted down, I eased off while a guy eyeballed it from the side, and it was obvious they would need to lash it from both directions to keep it from bowing.
The boom truck on the left, a 10 ton'r, was bought for $500.00 by my customer. He asked me to tell him if I saw anything scarey about it, and I just said other then the lack of a ATB device, while using a manbasket, not a thing.... Turned out all it needed to get it operating, was hydraulic fluid, it was out, go figure , as it doesn't leak now.
As an old framer, I don't get these steel buildings, don't like them, the way they go up and the finished product. I'd gone with wood trusses, 24" O.C., same with the wood studs. A conventional foundation, Easy and effective to insulate, all the materials available at the local lumber yard (no trucking fee for the steel building kit), and then you can sheet the ceiling and walls on the inside quick and easy as everythings on 24" centers. My shop, crane shed in town, and hangar all have sheetrock on the ceiling, (painted bright white) and OSB on the walls, making it very handy for screwing anything into the walls, and if I need to find a stud for heavier stuff, that's easy also.
The boom truck on the left, a 10 ton'r, was bought for $500.00 by my customer. He asked me to tell him if I saw anything scarey about it, and I just said other then the lack of a ATB device, while using a manbasket, not a thing.... Turned out all it needed to get it operating, was hydraulic fluid, it was out, go figure , as it doesn't leak now.
As an old framer, I don't get these steel buildings, don't like them, the way they go up and the finished product. I'd gone with wood trusses, 24" O.C., same with the wood studs. A conventional foundation, Easy and effective to insulate, all the materials available at the local lumber yard (no trucking fee for the steel building kit), and then you can sheet the ceiling and walls on the inside quick and easy as everythings on 24" centers. My shop, crane shed in town, and hangar all have sheetrock on the ceiling, (painted bright white) and OSB on the walls, making it very handy for screwing anything into the walls, and if I need to find a stud for heavier stuff, that's easy also.
hosspuller
Senior Member
Natman .. Just an ignorant question.. How did they "lash it" to keep from bowing ? Guy lines to the floor on both sides ? Seems too tall for something rigid.
This customer is one who does grain mill/elevator work for a living, so his work truck had plenty of comalongs, rope etc. on board They snagged it from both sides, secured to some foundation bolts, and a guy eyeballing it from the side told them when it was straight.
The pictures speak for themselves I guess, a fun one. Barely made it up, even chained, then had to deal with the slope. The one good thing was the forklift (that wouldn't start and wasn't supposed to be there) just by pure dumb luck happened to be exactly positioned just right to safety my most critical outrigger. I still tied off to a tree behind me just in case it started sliding downhill, it made me feel better anyway. The trees added to the fun, times like this make me glad I don't have a bigger rig.
Attachments
hosspuller
Senior Member
The stack of cribbing under your front really makes the image.