Flying Cats

[Tillaway]

Forks, Washington based logger improvises to reach a tough corner. 

Flying Cats

[beenthere]

Tillaway
That was a very impressive video of moving logs and heavy (!!!) equipment on and off the logging site. Thanks for the heads up.   

[Furby]

WOW!
I really liked watching that, thanks! 8) 8) 8)

Maybe I missed it, but what was the distance across there?

[scgargoyle]

The noise it makes creeped me out....

[SwampDonkey]

I'm on dial-up, but can imagine what's going on there. We did a fly camp once and had to sling everything in by chopper after making the long haul by Beaver to an old abandoned sea side landing. Loaded everything in a big net with quick release and dropped it in an open swamp near camp site. Had a radio and antenna, but was useless being too far from a repeater. Also, had a 12 gage packed away, had to use it once on a bear to run it off. A returning bear never got a second chance, camp rule.  ;D

Hey, we bucked up a tree for camp benches and table. Yup, had a chainsaw to. ;)

[beenthere]

SD
This wasn't like what you describe, as they ran everything in on cable. Showed moving new Cat's with grapples in from a long distance, and showed 'flying' turns of logs out.  Quite a show.

Would like to see a video of what you describe too...... ;D

[SwampDonkey]

I always miss out on all the excitement.  ;)

[Tillaway]

SD
They used a big tower yarder , 110 footer I think, to transport cats across a canyon with a live skyline system.  They had a half million bucks hanging on the wire.  They logged the opposite side with cats and swung the logs back across with a Bowman sky car.  No gravity system either they needed a haul back on this show.  I hope the hook tender that rigged that up is very well paid. I bet both the hook tender and yarder engineer didn't sleep well the night before they did that.

The distance looked like over 2000 feet across that canyon when they first sent them over.  That yarder should have around 2500 feet of mainline, maybe just a bit more.  The haul-back should be about a mile long.  The skyline drum usually holds about as much as the mainline drum.  They can put extensions on the skyline and with that yarder hanging 6000 feet across a canyon is well within its capabilities.

The noise was the cable complaining a bit about the load on it.  I'm pretty sure that was a new one.  I wouldn't risk doing something like that without.

A cable system like that one is pretty much the norm around here.  The biggest yarders we have are 70 footers.  I don't think you could pull that off with the iron we have in this area.

[SwampDonkey]

I hope it was nice wood over there. ;D

Sounds like a hair raising adventure for sure. 

[olyman]

hook tender--and yard engunneer--i bet they didnt sleep well!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! a cool half mil on the cable--i wouldnt slep well either!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!arghhhh

[Phorester]

Tillaway, did the operator ride in the cab on the way over?  ;D

[scsmith42]

That's a  way cool video!  I was watching it and the Doc asked what I was watching - when I commented "flying cats" I think that she thought that I was turning into a Michael Vick or something!  :D

[sawguy21]

Phorester, some of those guys are crazy enough to try it.

[SwampDonkey]

Not this Maritimer.  :D

[Paul_H]

Great story,Tillaway!

[tonich]

Thanks for the exciting video, Tillaway!