July August 2002 - Logging and Sawmilling Journal

A new piece of equipment-the Heli-harvester-could offer an economical alternative to helilogging in extreme conditions.

The feller buncher, the stroke delimber, the harvester/processor-these were all equipment developments that changed the direction of the forest industry. Now, meet what could be the next big invention for use in particularly steep slope logging: the "Heli-harvester". It is now possible to economically delimb, fall, grapple and transport small to medium size standing timber-which is typically harvested using the traditional, labour intensive, helilogging method-using a single tool called the Heli-harvester.

Bob Chalifoux with the Heli-harvester. The metal ring encircles the top of the tree, stopping it from falling over while the tree is delimbed and felled.

A bonus is that the entire process of flying a helicopter and operating a Heli-harvester tool dangling below requires only one person: the helicopter pilot. Bob Chalifoux, well known in British Columbia, Utah and Colorado helilogging circles, invented the device and steep slope logging may never be the same again.

Chalifoux is currently demonstrating the world's first commercial Heli-harvester to helilogging company Canadian Air Crane in British Columbia with the hope of making a sale, for potential use in certain select harvesting applications in Weyerhaeuser's coastal BC timber stands. Both Canadian Air Crane and Weyerhaeuser were quite impressed with the Heli-harvester's performance after witnessing an earlier demonstration hosted by Chalifoux.

He has been using his invention successfully for the past three years in his own business-developing and improving the product along the way-to the point where he's developed a light, medium and heavy-duty model. However, he recently decided it was time to launch the Heli-harvester into the commercial market before someone else did, and created a company, Heli-Harvester Inc.

"It wasn't for sale until we talked about it and decided to start marketing it. Because if we didn't, someone else would copy it for sure," says Chalifoux. "We've received a patent for our Heli-harvester in both Canada and the US." He owns six medium-lift helicopters in his helilogging and heliportable seismic company and has worked for most forestry companies in British Columbia and parts of the US over the past seven years.

The heliportable seismic branch of his business serves the oil and gas industry, moving portable drilling rigs from one location to another. A number of BC and US Northwest forestry companies have traditionally used helilogging as the only means of economically harvesting valuable timber situated on steep slopes and treacherous terrain.

This type of logging usually requires a considerable labor force-such as fallers, hookers, riggers, and chokers-to deliver timber to the landing. Essentially, the helicopter's role in this operation is simply to wait until forestry workers at ground level attach logs to cable tethers hanging from the helicopter, so that the helicopter can deliver them to the landing below.

Chalifoux's helicopters are equipped with a special viewing bubble so the pilot can lean over and observe the harvesting process.

It's an expensive way to log, but often the only alternative given ground conditions. Chalifoux does not foresee the Heli-harvester displacing workers because in many cases forestry companies have already abandoned certain sites-due to high costs-that can only be harvested using helilogging.

The Heli-harvester will actually create a certain amount of employment, he says. Timber stands will still need to be cruised for harvesting potential, trees will still need to be marked to avoid harvesting inferior wood and chain saw operators will still be needed at the landing to ensure that a thorough delimbing job has been done. The Heli-harvester is available in a number of configurations-as a combination felling, delimbing and grapple unit or as individual felling or grappling units.

Here's how it works. Once a target has been identified, the pilot manoeuvres the helicopter so that the Heli-harvester is positioned above the tree. Chalifoux's helicopters are equipped with a special viewing bubble so that the pilot can lean over and observe the entire process as it happens.

The Heli-harvester grabs the tree at the top, then delimbs it from top to bottom. Part of the Heli-harvester's design includes a metal ring that encircles the top of the tree trunk, stopping the tree from falling over while the delimbing and felling process is taking place. Once the tree is delimbed, it is grappled at the stump and a saw fells it. The helicopter then lifts off and transports the tree to the landing.

During the product's testing phase, Chalifoux has noticed a number of huge advantages using the Heli-harvester as opposed to conventional helilogging, simply because the trees are harvested from a standing position versus lying on the ground. "You get great recovery using the Heli-harvester for the simple reason that normally, when you fall the wood, you lose about 30 per cent of the fibre due to shatter and breakage," he says. "Usually, the wood is falling in steep slopes, rock outcrops and conditions like that. Breakage even occurs on flat ground. "With the Heli-harvester, you can let the tree down gently and you recover about 30 per cent more volume from that tree."

He adds that this method also results in less wear and tear on the helicopter. "You are not dead lifting the tree from a slash pile and trying to rip it free from other trees," he says. "It's already in clean air because it is in a vertical position." Furthermore, this method also saves time, resulting in huge savings for forestry companies because of the expense inherent in the operation of a helicopter. With helilogging, it is all about pounds harvested per hour.

"A lot of your time in helilogging is spent picking up the tree and trying to get it vertical," says Chalifoux. "With this method, you just drop your machine on the tree, cut it and, because you are already standing in clean air, you are gone." He is realistic about the product's potential, predicting that there is probably a market for about 100 Heli-harvesters worldwide. However, as it becomes more prevalent, forestry companies may find other economical uses for the device.

For now, this technology represents a more cost-effective method of harvesting trees in specific circumstances. Among these are situations where the helicopter can fly less than a kilometre between the harvest zone and the landing. Secondly, it works well in steep slopes where it is too dangerous for fallers to work and where conventional falling could result in 50 per cent breakage. Thirdly, the method makes it possible for forestry companies to selectively harvest small to medium size timber in environmentally sensitive areas, as it has virtually no environmental impact. No roads are required.

They can also target the highest-grade trees. Finally, because Heli-harvester logging targets standing timber, forestry companies are not hampered by ground conditions such as deep snow. Weather permitting, the Heli-harvester can operate productively year round, as opposed to the current helilogging, which is virtually shut down during the winter months.

That, in fact, is what spurred Chalifoux to ponder the invention of the Heli-harvester in the first place. He and his staff had plenty of time to ponder constructive alternatives to traditional helilogging during the typically slow winter months. Initially, they developed a grapple device that would allow them to pick up trees cut down by fallers below. "It was pretty efficient and worked quite well," says Chalifoux. "But in the winter there was always a problemwith snow. You lose the wood under the snow, so you have to wait until next summer to fly the logs out. We thought that our next step would be to try to build a machine that actually delimbs and cuts the tree standing."

After experimenting with sharpened pieces of pipe as a delimbing device, Chalifoux settled on chipper knives welded to the bottom of a ring because they consist of very sharp and rugged steel. With that problem solved, the next challenge was drafting a feasible saw design. "I came up with a fairly light saw, using a Hultdins sawblade," says Chalifoux. "Then I had to figure out how to supply horsepower to make it work. I had to find a power plant that was light enough and ended up using a snowmobile engine."

It was ideal, he says, because a snowmobile engine produces 100 horsepower quite easily and is the lightest alternative when considering power-to-weight ratio. It runs both the saw and the hydraulics. A number of safety features built in to the Heli-harvester's system includes an engine kill switch in case of a Heli-harvester engine malfunction or a blown hydraulic hose.

In a worst case scenario, the entire Heli-harvester can be jettisoned from the helicopter. Chalifoux says the cost of a Heli-harvester is comparable to conventional felling heads. Installation is the customer's responsibility and staff at Chalifoux's helilogging company can provide operator training. At present, the Heli-harvester is at a critical stage, which is achieving market acceptance.

Chalifoux is convinced of its production capabilities. Now it is a matter of convincing other high profile helilogging companies and forestry companies of its potential.

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