[b:51fc09e851]Chopper trimmer a cut above the rest[/b:51fc09e851]
25 November 2005
By STEPHEN WARD

It's just the thing to trim the hedge.

Tirau-based Helicopter Operations' new tree-trimming device features eight 600mm rotating blades that hang below a chopper. And the apparatus will easily cut a 5m swathe through trees dozens of metres in the air.

The company showed off the latest addition to its services at an open day on its Carmichael Rd property yesterday, lopping branches from the sides of pine trees too high to prune from the ground.

Branches the size of giant Christmas trees fell like slices of meat from the side of a well-cooked turkey. The saw blades are driven by a motor that sits on top of the device as it dangles below the chopper. Controls inside the aircraft turn the blades on and off.

For safety reasons, the device can be cut loose from the chopper instantly if it gets tangled. People are kept at least 100 metres away while the helicopter is using the trimmer. It is transported between jobs on a specially built trailer.
The company has spent about $60,000 developing the giant trimmer, designed to cut branches that, for example, are threatening to encroach over roads or powerlines. Company owner Leith Carmichael said he had spent a huge amount of time developing and testing the giant saw. He said the device was the largest of its type in New Zealand that he knew of.

"There's no other saw like this in the country."

Mr Carmichael hoped customers such as lines companies and Transit New Zealand would be keen to use it.

[img:51fc09e851]http://www.movetonz.org/pics/MotherBear_0,1445,214049,00.jpg[/img:51fc09e851]