Written By: Dan Shell

Yes, though the staff at WLWT-TV in Cincinnati didn’t get it right—it’s definitely not a chain saw—the footage of a utility trimming trees along a powerline corridor with a chopper-suspended gang of 10 circle saws making short work of large and high altitude hardwood limbs is quite impressive. The news item came over the popular OPEI Smartbrief on March 16, and a quick Internet search shows at least two companies doing this kind of work.

According to a gizmodo.com article, “The Haverfield Aviation system, for example, has been in use since 2008. According to the Haverfield website, the “buzz saw chain” consists of “10 circular, carbide-tipped blades—2 ft. in diameter—suspended 120 feet below the helicopter. A low-emission engine drives the saw, which a pilot operates from the cockpit. The length of the aerial saw can be increased or decreased by adding or subtracting sections of aluminum poles. A similar setup from Aerial Solutions in Tabor City, NC utilizes 11 24 in. blades strung along a 40 foot aluminum bar and spun up to 5,800 RPM by a 45 HP, 2-stroke gas engine controlled by the pilot. Of course, now that gizmodo mentioned it, the PET editors would love to see a 45 HP 2-stroke in action!

Click here for the original article and to watch the video!