Wayne, from a background attempting to control bushfires with helicopters and fixed wing aircraft I can assure you the information is not upto sufficient standard to be safely used in flight. The higher voltage lines have cleared areas below them which makes them easier to pick however swer lines and lower voltage lines may not be cleared below. In most cases the maps or more correctly schematics are not sufficiently upto date nor done on a standard datum.
On one occasion we found an old copper wire near Mt Wilson west of sydney with a thermal imaging camera as it had a different heat signature. It was covered in moss and verdigrease ( ?) beautifully camouflaging it against the green background. I know of one helicopter crew that picked up a wire at 350ft AGL and the poles weren't even visible from the incident site. In NSW some powerlines were sandblasted to reduce reflection and the towers painted green to satisfy the greenies as a condition of the mandatory EIS. Low speed and all eyes outside is the best risk mitigator. Peter Heath ----- Original Message ----- From: "Wayne Carter" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, March 23, 2006 7:48 AM Subject: [Aus-soaring] Re:swer > You may be pointing the way, Ben! Perhaps what is needed is just a > centrally located DATABASE (GFA?, maybe WIKI?) of known hazards. The > database could be updated by any pilot and not always with warnings, > maybe a "great feild south of the farmhouse, nice cold beer inside" or > similar. This database will grow over the years and represent a great > part of the country we may outland in! As a side, this thought came to > me with the recent release of the ATSB information of a crashed chopper, > killing all aboard. They had hit a wire, game over instantly. We are now > flying around with these wonderful gadgets capable of vast amounts of > detail, why not include more information about the ground? > Yes, I know its not a substitute for good lookout. > Thanks for the input, Wayne > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > > >------------------------------ > > > >Message: 4 > >Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2006 19:52:30 +0800 > >From: "Ben Jones" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >Subject: Re: [Aus-soaring] SWER > >To: "Discussion of issues relating to Soaring in Australia." > > <[email protected]> > >Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1"; > > reply-type=response > > > >Hello all, > > > >SWER power lines are generally in WA 98% privately owned by the consumer , > >The electricity supplyer ( Western power ) in most of WA is liable and will > >maintain infrastructure up to the "Point of attachment" (POA) ,which is > >usally the first pole within 20 meters of the property boundary , on the top > >of the pole the incomming grid line(s) will be joined to the Consumer line > >to the property that connection is the point of attachment , > > > >I had a friends farm property snap the Consumers line out of the POA , the > >local linesman arrived the next day mounted the pole undid the cover and > >said to the owner "Your cable has corroded thru and snapped ....call the > >local electrican he will sort it out for you ". > >Then my phone rang with a frantic friend come out and fix my incomming > >powerline......needles to say i had to go up the power pole like a rat up a > >drain pipe and repain the live connection . > > > >Btw SWER = Single Wire Earth Return > > > >Reporting of the physical location of consumer poles and wire was reported > >(many years ago) but now with the move for Electrical Contractors to self > >Regulate compliance to the standards as long as the contractor signs off > >that its legal the regulators and supplies are happy , if its wrong the > >legal powers to be come at the contractor at a very fast rate and usally the > >contractor gets heavy fines a nice pink "notice to corect " and loss of > >contractors ticket and sometimes loss of all electrical licences . > > > >The best thing to do is to send out a blank proforma to all the farmers that > >people know along most frequently use glider routes and around airfields to > >sketch , measure and draw the infrastructure on to a suppled topographic map > >and send it back to a" central colation point " where the data can be > >digitally drawn on a map and marked with notes about the lines and > >transformers , in what ever drawing package that is compatible with pda's > >used for glider navigation then uploaded possible to the gfa website every > >month as changes are made and new information comes to light so every one > >can down load and update their PDA databases monthly > > > >..........just my $ 0.02 worth yes i know it requires a bit of leg work but > >in the gliding world you would be supprised just how many local farmers do > >fly gliders and even powered aircraft > > > > > >regards > > > >BEN > >WA Licensed Electrican > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Aus-soaring mailing list > [email protected] > To check or change subscription details, visit: > http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring > _______________________________________________ Aus-soaring mailing list [email protected] To check or change subscription details, visit: http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring
