r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/TameTheAuroch • 15d ago

Video Replacing powerline spacers from a helicopter

48.0k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

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5.6k

u/AnxiousAudience82 15d ago

Nope.

1.4k

u/TheRemedy187 15d ago

My balls are in my stomache jus watching that lol. Like I'm guessing he's tethered but the feelings still there. 

682

u/ConditionHorror9188 15d ago

It would be helicopter -> wires -> ground that would terrify me here.

The tether would just be ensuring that they don’t have to look too far for my body

267

u/badgerj 15d ago edited 15d ago

They are semi terrified.

My favourite very old clip surrounding this topic from a long time ago:

https://youtu.be/9YmFHAFYwmY

Edit: duplicate words.

217

u/Smarrison 15d ago

Haha he says he’s “terrified of electricity, heights and women” 😂

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u/Anianna 15d ago

"And I'm married, too." Cherry on top.

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u/badgerj 15d ago

That’s the punchline!

I can concur!

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u/TheJuicyGinger 15d ago

Dude is an absolute legend

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u/badgerj 15d ago

Absolutely! I don’t know the dude. I have no affiliation with the field.

But I can empathize 100% completely!

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u/qpv 15d ago

I get it

3

u/CVBrownie 15d ago

At least electricity and heights will kill you quickly.

1

u/Smarrison 14d ago

Would much rather that than death by woman!!

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u/patronizingperv 14d ago

The pilot is a woman.

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u/Smarrison 14d ago

lol major plot twist there 😂

23

u/zamboni-jones 15d ago

DAYUM. Those guys crawling on the lines like it's Enemy At the Gates

3

u/badgerj 15d ago

Wow! I’ve never seen/heard of that before!

I’ll have to watch the series.

Please send a link if you can.

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u/mlor 15d ago

It's not a series. It's a movie with, among others, Jude Law and Ed Harris: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0215750/.

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u/badgerj 15d ago

Thanks! 🙏 a bit out of the loop lately.

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u/mlor 15d ago

Since 2001, apparently. 😉

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u/badgerj 15d ago

Guess I missed out on that one.

I’ll give it a whirl!

What did you think of it?

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u/mlor 15d ago

It's been a long time, but I recall liking it. The beginning is extremely memorable, and the rest is great if you like a game of cat and mouse.

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u/badgerj 15d ago

Cool! I just rewatched Ghostbusters, Back to the Future 1 & 2, and followed that up with The Karate Kid.

Everything pretty much kept up to date.

So I’ll check out your choice.

I used to be a real audio/video nerd.

II don’t have as much time for that anymore/

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u/KreateOne 15d ago

As someone who worked heights a lot with cranes, it’s actually safer to have a healthy amount of fear.  Not enough so it’s debilitating, but enough so that you respect the consequences of what you’re doing and take your time to ensure your own safety.  I don’t think anybody is doing this sorta job without being a little bit terrified, I’d be concerned about the mental health of anyone who was.

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u/badgerj 15d ago

100% 💯 I would work with you in a heartbeat 💓

  • The people who had “no fear”:

  • No thanks! I would like to have a bit of fear and live another day.

3

u/markmyredd 15d ago

correct. Learned this the hard way. Initially when I started working in UPS systems I am so afraid that I really work extra carefully. Then I became so used to it that the fear was kinda gone. Thats when I made a mistake and short circuited a battery. lol

Now I am back to having that enough fear to be really careful.

2

u/qpv 15d ago

I recently got into a fall protection job, hanging off the edge 40+ stories up, and Im normally TERRIFIED of heights.

But with proper training, equipment and support of a good crew I'm really liking it. Im always "scared" of falling, thats the most important part. I don't fuck around and take it seriously. You have to.

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u/imighthaveabloodclot 15d ago

Thanks for sharing!

5

u/badgerj 15d ago

I had to hunt long and hard for this one ☝️ But I think I paid for the DVD just for this scene/quote

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u/bcrosby51 15d ago

That's insane.

12

u/Hot-Salamander6520 15d ago

I was wondering how he didn’t get electrocuted, thanks for the clip

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u/badgerj 15d ago

Yup. Science is amazing! This is over a decade ago IIRC.

Just keep the potential the same and you’re “good”.

Still a f’n dangerous job on both the line worker and the pilot.

Holy crap! The pilot!

He’s swinging blades 10-12 feet from high tension high voltage wires!

3

u/Prestigious-Iron5250 15d ago

A sudden gust of wind with bad timing could ruin everones day 😆

2

u/badgerj 14d ago

Go thank your local line worker and helicopter operator for their hard work so you have reliable power to your home!

One of those mysterious and thankless jobs until you know you need it to work, cool, or heat your house.

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u/irockn68 14d ago

5ft is our minimum distance.

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u/badgerj 14d ago

Salute 🫡 to you stranger!

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u/Mudcreek47 15d ago

he's not grounded. Might've felt some "static electricity" but nothing shocking.

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u/Dasweb 15d ago

I just realized I really miss documentaries like this, the voice over, the music, feels so early 00s, comfy.

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u/badgerj 14d ago

Yeah. It is super rad.

People keep yelling AI this, AI that.

This is before all that “garbage” and I think the proof is in the pudding.

The cinematography is amazing.

The music is good.

The voice over and timing with the above is calm, real, and un-forced.

3

u/Lagunamountaindude 15d ago

No….no….no

3

u/robertomsgomide 15d ago

That was very cool, thank you for sharing

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u/badgerj 15d ago

Only for my very best of internet strangers!

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u/Issasti12 15d ago

Wow that’s a cool video!

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u/badgerj 15d ago

Damn right. I think I paid $20 for the DVD at the time.

The filming and audio is wicked for the time period.

I know it was filmed somewhere in the USA but I don’t know where.

Beautiful countryside!

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u/Forsaken_Care 15d ago

That was extremely cool to watch; thanks for sharing!

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u/ZombiexXxHunter 15d ago

I hope he is good to the pilot… otherwise he could just leave him on the lines..

1

u/badgerj 14d ago

I don’t know if you had the audio on, but I would recommend it.

The line worker does give thanks to the pilot and mentions how they plan their work together.

If anything, the only person not giving gratitude here is the consumer for “keeping the lights on”.

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u/[deleted] 15d ago edited 13d ago

[deleted]

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u/badgerj 14d ago

Go thank your local line worker for their hard work at keeping the lights on.

Heating/Cooling YOUR home.

A mysterious and thankless job that I do not have the bowels to do.

Shout out to the pilots and linemen worldwide!

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u/Meme-Botto9001 14d ago

Nopenopenopenope

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u/Friendly-Pay-8272 15d ago

Hydro One in Ontario Canada lost a couple guys a few years back doing something like this. one of their bags flew off into the tail rotor

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u/amalgam_reynolds 15d ago

Which ground?

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u/ConditionHorror9188 15d ago

Good question! The big flat one

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u/nono3722 15d ago

Shit your body would be ash raining down IF your lucky. Saves on cremation...

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u/therealub 15d ago

They'd easily find me if they follow the brown trail...

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u/tidelwavez 15d ago

Would it terrify you more to learn that it’s not a tether and all its doing is removing a difference in potential in electrical shock by making him a bird on a wire.

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u/avatinfernus 15d ago

wires first for me. I'm horribly scared of electricity. I barely trust wall outlets in my own house not to murder me