Flying APE’s Spotted in Alabama!
Reported From: APE Southeast (FL)
Vice Construction had a job with Alabama Power where pulling in a crane on the job site with a vibratory hammer wouldn’t be possible. So APE teamed up with Erickson Air Crane to come up with a solution that has worked in the past, a Flying APE 150 Vibratory Hammer! The location was a tough squeeze and there were times the team was driving the cans within a hundred feet from peoples homes. The helicopter had to work at a “higher” than normal altitude due to the fact that the clearing tract for the job was not wide enough for the helicopter to work in, so needless to say the air crane had to remain above the tree line.
You can imagine the pilot had his work cut out for him; the longer the line, the more difficult it will be to maneuver. The piles were 48 inch (3/8 wall) and up to 48 feet long. Piles were driven the week after thanksgiving. On Monday, November 29th the job site had some of the worst weather of the year. Tornado warnings, storms, wind, rain, we were not able fly unfortunately. The APE 150 finished its job Friday. Once we found the groove, things went smooth (As smooth as one can go with a 9000 h.p. helicopter overhead churning up 100 m.p.h. winds below).
