[narrator] A new breed of
super machine is evolving.
Bigger, faster, smarter,
built to tackle
near-impossible feats.
Among them: a revolutionary
mega lift helicopter.
>> Yeehaw!
[narrator] Flying massive
loads through raging winds...
>> There's not many helicopters
that can do that.
[narrator]...overcoming
obstacles that could down
an ordinary helicopter...
>> If any one of those
components fail, that tower's
coming down on top of them.
[narrator]...and hauling
1,500 tons of steel to build
a critical new power line.
>> I have the controls.
>> You got the controls.
>> I have the controls.
[narrator]...in a mission
to push men and machine
to the brink.
>> Keep flying, keep flying!
>> Fly forward.
>> Holy áááá!
[narration] Blowing this
$25 million beast apart, we'll
discover technological secrets
thatvercome the impossible.
From ingenious stabilizers
holding it steady in strong
winds to twin jet engines with
the power of 12 Formula One
racing cars.
We'll reveal how this
extraordinary mega lift
helicopter evolved to rise
above all other machines.
Due north of Montana lie
Canada's Alberta Prairies.
Here, work is about to begin
on an epic endeavour.
This army of men will wage
battle against 40-mph winds to
construct more than
100 colossal steel towers,
forming a vital link in a
220-mile power line between
2 Alberta boom towns.
>> We've been spending the last
year prepping to this moment.
[narrator] Calling the shots,
construction boss Jamie Capner.
This is the biggest project he's
ever undertaken.
JAMIE CAPNER, Construction Boss,
RS Line: It's one of the biggest
upgrades that Alberta will see,
probably in my lifetime anyway.
[narration] Fuelled by oil,
Alberta is booming.
Its expanding population
needs a power grid to match.
(beeping)
To feed Calgary and Edmonton
with more power, Alberta is
building a massive $1.6 billion
transmission line.
A critical section needs
to bridge 60 miles of scrub
and swampland. Here, Jamie's
crew will erect 121 giant
electrical towers.
The power line must traverse
terrain cut off from roads,
a barren wilderness traditional
construction cranes
just can't cross.
The solution? A crane that
flies. It's a mega lift
helicopter called an Air-Crane.
Crammed under super lightweight
skin are 200,000 high-precision
components.
The Air-Crane has a steel core
strong enough to carry 5 SUVs.
Its twin jet engines blast out
air at the heat of volcanic gas.
And its rotor blades spin
at the speed of a cruising jet.
Together, these highly advanced
features help this helicopter
lift - and lug - extraordinary
loads.
And this American mega
lifter's got a nickname:
Elvis. He arrived this morning
from Oregon, with his
Top Gun flight crew.
>> People are surprised when
they first start flying it.
They think Elvis is going to fly
like a school bus because it
is so huge. It's 98 feet long.
But it flies like a Ferrari.
[narration] Manning the
controls, chief pilot
Travis Harrold.
TRAVIS HARROLD, Chief Pilot,
Erickson Air-Crane: We like
to say that the crane climbs
like a homesick angel.
Because you put a load under it,
and it will still outclimb
most aircraft that are empty.
[narrator] Travis and his team
of co-pilots will use Elvis to
lift the giant towers, fly them
to the drop zone and set them
onto these foundations. To stay
on budget, they have just 8 days
to accomplish their mission.
>> They want this power line up,
and the faster they can get it
up, the better. The wind always
blows in Alberta. So we know we
have our challenges ahead of us
as far as the wind goes.
>> We've got roughly 100 guys
working for us today to kick
this thing off.
We're going to get 120 towers
done in about 8 days and hope
for the best.
>> We're going to push you this
next week. We got 120 plus
towers to do in a week.
You guys aren't going to be
used to the pace. Watch out for
your buddy up the tower, watch
out for people on the ground. Be
safe and go as hard as you can.
>> Let's get at her then!
[narration] It takes 3 pilots to
fly Elvis. Vic Johnson and Brad
Warren have the front controls.
Travis mans this plexiglass
bubble at the rear. Designed
for the toughest construction
jobs, this is the world's
only helicopter with
an aft-facing pilot.
>> There's probably only
5 completely signed off aft
seat construction pilots
in the world that are capable
of doing anything that we do.
[narration] First challenge:
get the towers airborne.
Jamie's crew has assembled the
structures in 2 halves along the
length of the power line.
Now he needs the Air-Crane
to haul the base sections
into place, then drop
the upper segments on top.
>> I'm just making sure all
our rigging is set up right so
once we start lifting it's not
going to get caught or bound up
or hung up, potentially
damaging something.
[narrator] Weighing 4.5 tons,
base section number one
was not designed to fly,
but it's about to.
(Jamie): Air-Crane,
you going to copy?
(Brad): Hey, Jamie, crane's
lifting in 10 seconds.
(Travis): Yes, sir, we're
getting ready to roll.
It's going to be a beautiful
day today.
(Vic): Aft seat's engaged?
(Travis): Aft seat's engaged.
(Vic): Transponders on,
clock's running.
(Travis): OK, I got it, Vic.
[narrator] Almost 10,000 HP
blasts Elvis into the sky.
(whistling)
>> Hey, guys! Get your hooks
up in the air.
[narrator] The hook-up crew has
the most dangerous job, working
right underneath the helicopter.
>> A screwup in this trade
is catastrophic, it's death.
[narrator] Hook-up crew boss
Chad Hurd knows bone and flesh
are
no match for swinging steel.
CHAD HURD, Load Master, Erickson
Air-Crane: If it falls
from 50, 60, even 10 feet,
it'll kill you instantly.
[narration] Flying helicopters
at low heights and around
tall structures is fraught
with danger.
This pilot in New Zealand was
hoisting a 7-story Christmas
decoration into place
when his cargo line got
too near the rotor blades.
It was a close call.
But incredibly, no one was
seriously injured.
>> Look how fast he's going!
[narrator] The hook-up crew
braces for a 50-mph wind from
Elvis's enormous rotors.
>> So I have the controls. I'm
just going to back the aircraft
back up, come down here,
lower the hooks into the hands
of the ground crewmen.
(Chad): 80 off the deck.
>> Chad guides the Air-Crane in,
bringing the 4 huge metal hooks
swinging within arm's reach of
his crew.
>> 60, 40... This is the
probably the most dangerous
part.
>> You can see them kind of
wobbling around. There's a
little bit of wind they're
fighting against.
>> Keep her coming, I got the
tail. Keep her coming.
There's a lot of moving metal up
above their heads. It's a very
critical time where somebody
could get injured very easily.
Hold that.
[narrator] With the ground
crew's safety in the palm of his
hand, Travis needs much more
precise control than any normal
helicopter could hope to offer.
(man speaking indistinctly
over PA)
And he gets it, thanks
to the 6 giant rotors.
These 36-foot-long blades
are engineered for ultimate
strength.
But their aluminium skin is less
than half a millimetre thick.
To boost their lifting power,
they use a trick from nature's
very own helicopter.
Maple seeds evolved to fly far
from their tree. They've grown
wings that catch them as they
fall. Air rushes over the thick
angled edge, giving them lift.
On a good wind, they can fly
for miles to put down new roots
and spread their DNA.
The Air-Crane's rotors mimic
this aerodynamic design
to do the heavy lifting.
Their tips spin at 490 mph, as
fast as a cruising jet plane.
The pilots can even change their
angle of attack with minute
precision to keep Elvis exactly
where the ground crew needs him.
(Chad): 5, hold what you got.
All clear, easy up. Good to go.
>> Start rolling this tower up
here. We'll get to about the
45-degree angle here. It's going
to start to tip over. We don't
want to drag them, we don't
want to bump them on anything.
They're actually very fragile.
>> Come back up a little bit.
[narrator] This tower base
weighs 9,000 lb. Right now,
it's balancing on just two
fragile legs. If they fail,
the whole structure will
crash down onto the crew.
tor] N,
in Canada's remote Alberta
prairies, Jamie Capner's
construction crew has just
8 days to erect 121 electrical
towers, forming a crucial
60-mile stretch
of a new power line.
>> Everything OK there?
[narrator] To reach terrain land
vehicles can't, they're using an
Air-Crane, a revolutionary
heavyweight helicopter.
>> Hold her back, hold her back.
[narrator] As the 9,000-lb
base section pivots upright on
2 fragile legs, the pressure is
on chief pilot Travis.
The giant rotors whip up gale
force winds, which blast
the ground crew.
(Chad): Stiffeners are out,
all clear. Easy up, good to go.
>> Yeehaw!
>> Yeah!
>> We're going to head out
to the set site and we'll set
this baby.
[narrator] Next challenge:
a 3-mile dash to the first
tower's set site.
>> Just racing the Air-Crane.
Hopefully, we can get there
before he does. It's hard
to keep up with.
[narrator] Boss Jamie is racing
a helicopter that has 30 times
more HP than his truck and
drains the job's budget every
second it's in the air.
>> It's costing about 17,000 an
hour. Break it down into about
$5 a second. Seconds actually
do make the difference.
>> Yes, sir. Bring it on.
Everybody just wants to get
things going, get these first
couple out.
[narrator] On the ground,
Dave Lillesve's job is
single-handedly guide
the 4.5-ton structure onto
its foundation supports.
DAVE LILLESVE, Project Manager,
Erickson Air-Crane: They'll come
down. They'll come into the wind
for the set and I'll be giving
him elevations the whole way in.
(Brad): See Dave out
in the field there?
>> I do, yes.
>> OK, you're coming in at 40.
[narrator] The front seat pilots
can't see the tower below them.
So they rely on Dave telling
them the distance in feet,
from the bottom of the base
to the top of the foundation.
(Dave): There's 30,
looking about 25.
>> OK, I have the controls.
>> You got it.
[narrator] At 25 feet, the front
pilots hand over control to
Travis in his rear bubble.
(Dave): 10, 8, 6...
>> When we get down to one foot,
we want to be just drifting
right over the top of the
bananas.
[narrator] Travis must lower
the tower's legs into these
orange brackets, called bananas.
One false move could knock off
these crucial connectors.
(Travis): I relate it to flying
a piece of dental floss and
trying to stick it through
a needle.
[narrator] Precision docking
is only possible because
of the helicopter's
revolutionary design.
Unlike the front pilots, whose
view is restricted, rear pilot
Travis has clear sight of the
ground immediately below.
The Air-Crane is the only
helicopter in the world with an
aft-facing pilot. Travis sits in
a plexiglass bubble giving him
a 180-degree window in the air.
It's an idea borrowed from
the flying aces of days gone by,
when early bombers had a fatal
weakness. The pilots couldn't
see fighters sneaking up
from behind.
So aircraft designers grafted
on a rear-facing glass canopy
with a gun inside.
Now the bomber crews could
defend themselves, thanks
to their eyes in the back.
The Air-Crane's plexiglass
bubble gives the pilot maximum
visibility and complete command.
Minute movements of the cyclic
joystick send lightning fast
signals through a fly-by-wire
system.
They reach the rotor head and
change the angle of the blades,
manoeuvring Elvis into position
with unparalleled precision.
(Travis): That's one of the neat
aspects of the Air-Crane, is
that we have total unrestricted
view for 180 degrees.
(Dave): There's one foot. You're
inside, come on up a little bit.
2 feet, there's one foot.
Inches... You're trapped.
There you go! You got it,
you got it. And cut her free.
And 4 hooks clear.
(Jamie): Good catch, Trav.
[narrator] Tower Base I, down.
120 more to go.
Jamie's crew moves in to bolt
the structure to its foundation
as Elvis heads back to pick up
base section number two.
(Brad): OK now, I'm looking for
a hook crew, which I do not see.
(Travis): Chad's just right
beside us.
(Chad): We're ready for you
right here.
[narration] With his eagle eye
in the sky, Travis spots the
ground crew.
(Travis): OK, I got it, Vic.
[narrator] The key to his
clear line of sight is Elvis's
insect-like shape.
Buried inside the Air-Crane's
slender spine is a central
core made from magnesium
alloy and steel.
It connects the massive rotor
head directly to the cargo hook,
transferring the weight of
the load away from the body,
keeping the rest of the frame
super slim to give Travis
a bird's eye view.
[narration] From 40 foot in the
air, Travis spots the hooks are
connected to the wrong cables.
If he lifts now, the tower could
lurch into the ground crew.
(Travis): There are people
standing right by those legs,
knocking the stiffeners out.
If I'm out of position,
I'm going to hurt somebody.
[narration] Travis's unique
vantage point averts disaster.
In this game of flying steel,
no man can afford a lapse
of concentration, even for
a split second.
(Dave): OK, there's 15...
there's 8, 2, 1, inches.
OK, we got a thumbs-up.
Slack off and cut her free.
[narration] Tower Base II, down.
With the clock ticking
on their 8-day schedule,
it's time to step up a gear.
>> Here we come, cowboy.
>> It's nice seeing towers going
out of the yard so smoothly.
(man speaking indistinctly
over PA)
[narration] With air and ground
crews firing on all cylinders,
they set 20 base sections
in just 4 hours.
>> That's awesome.
>> Good job, you guys.
[narration] But next, they must
lift the top sections, twice the
weight and twice the challenge.
>> Holy lick! That wind is
picking up on us.
[narrator] And Mother
Nature's about to throw them
a curve ball...
(man on radio): Hello!
(Travis): Keep flying!
(Jamie): Holy áááá!
(Travis): Keep flying!
[narration] North of the
US-Canadian border in Alberta,
100 men and one heavyweight
helicopter are constructing
121 steel towers to form
a critical 60-mile link in
a massive new power line.
>> Breakfast and lunch of
champions. This is pepperoni.
[narrator] 24 hours into their
8-day mission, they're under the
gun to fly 20 tower tops onto
the bases they set yesterday.
At 16,000 lb, these top sections
are game changers. To make
matters even worse, at this time
of year, gale force winds
upwards of 50 mph can strike
without warning.
>> The wind is pretty much
at our threshold right now.
Chopper's good to fly in this
kind of weather. It's just
the setting part that's really
going to hit them.
(man on radio): OK, two's up.
Stable. Ready one.
(Brad): 10, 11 ignition.
(Travis): I got it, Victor.
(Vic): You have the controls.
(Chad): Hey, you guys, just to
let you know, give you
a heads-up, the wind is just
swirling down here in the yard,
so your call.
>> OK, thanks.
[narration] With 90-foot long
arms, this top section is now at
the mercy of the building wind.
(Chad): Hold what you got.
The top of this thing is as
wide as it is tall and all the
weight is at the top of this.
If one side was to break loose,
it could actually swing down and
come up and hit the helicopter
at that point in time because
it's so wide.
All clear, easy up.
The 8-ton tower top weighs
almost as much as the Air-Crane
itself.
>> It's one of the only
helicopters in the world
that can carry its own weight.
It's like an ant! Ants carry
their bodyweight.
[narrator] Hauling this beast
into the air takes all of
Elvis's raw engine power.
(Chad): All yours, good to go.
[narrator] Strapped to the
Air-Crane's back is the power
of 12 Formula One cars.
Turbine blades force 4,600
gallons of air into the engines
every second, compressing it
into the combustion chamber.
Here, it mixes with fuel and
ignites. These are jet-age
engines, but their roots are
in a medieval kitchen.
Roasting meat for a 16th-century
feast was an exhausting task.
Until an inventor channelled
the hot gases from the fire
to spin a turbine and drive
a system of cogs and gears.
This rotated the spit to cook
a perfect roast powered
by nothing but hot air.
The helicopter's engines blast
out gases at 1,600 F, the heat
of a volcano. The gases rotate
a turbine 9,000 times a minute,
which drives the energy through
a shaft into the transmission.
It turns the rotor mast,
spinning the blades with the
horsepower of 6 monster trucks,
more than a match for lifting
the 16,000-lb tower top.
(Travis): Tower is up and clear.
[narrator] Elvis's engines blast
him towards the set site
at 80 mph.
>> Twice as fast I can go.
[narration] Dave needs
to get ahead of the Air-Crane
to guide the tower into place.
>> Shoot! How do you get there
from here?
[narration] But not all
the temporary roads through
the wilderness are marked...
>> It doesn't go around!
[narrator]...and Dave's losing
the race against a helicopter
built not just for lifting
power, but also for speed.
At full throttle, Elvis burns
almost 9 gallons of jet fuel
a minute.
An automatic control unit
designed like a Swiss watch
feeds the gas hungry engines
from 5 separate tanks.
If one runs low before another,
the unbalanced weight will slow
the helicopter. So the control
unit pumps kerosene from
the tanks in perfect unison,
keeping the Air-Crane balanced,
even when the pilots push him
to top speed.
(Travis): Oh, the ground crews
are not liking us today.
>> It's got to be through
the fly yard. Right there.
[narrator] Dave spots the base
and makes it by the skin
of his teeth.
(man on radio):
Three, two, one...
>> Bring it on.
(Travis): OK, I got it, Vic.
(Vic): You got it.
(Travis): Right a couple.
(Dave): 3, 2 feet, 2 feet,
there's 1 foot.
(Travis): OK, I have it.
(Dave): Inches. You're trapped.
Come on down with it, come on
down, give me the weight.
Come on up a little bit, inside.
[narrator] At the critical
moment, the wind kicks up
a gear, swinging the tower
from Travis's control.
(man on radio): No, no, one
side's got to come down here.
(Dave): You knocked
that banana off.
[narration] Blasted sideways,
the tower knocks off one of the
bananas, a crucial connector
that would lock to the base.
>> Ah, you just lost
another one.
>> There goes all the bananas.
There's virtually no way we're
going to set this structure,
so let's abort this one.
[narrator] There's now no way
to lock the tower together. With
men on the ground, Travis can't
let 8 tons of steel fall. A mile
away, at the pick up site,
boss Jamie hears the bad news.
>> He's got no other choice
but to bring it back
to the yard here.
(censor beep)
[narrator] Now the crew must
wrestle this behemoth to
the ground, something it was
never designed to do.
and take it back to the yard.
(Chad): OK, roger that.
[narrator] North of Montana,
in Alberta, Canada, sudden high
winds force the heavyweight
helicopter to abort its
mission of setting this tower
top onto its base.
>> Looks like they had trouble
with that one.
[narration] Chief pilot Travis
and copilots Vic and Brad race
to get 8 tons of steel safely
into the hands of the ground
crew before the Air-Crane
runs out of fuel.
(Travis): Aborting a structure
is the last thing that we want
to do, short of running out of
fuel.
>> It's quite difficult
to lay one down, especially
if there's a bit of an incline
like there is here.
[narrator] To land the
structure, they will have to
lay it on its side, a manoeuvre
it's simply not designed for.
(Chad): 3, 2, hold that
right there.
>> There's definitely a danger
to it. He's got to hover
for about 2 or 3 minutes
with it while they stick
the stiffeners back in.
(Chad): Four. Hold it right
there, Travis.
[narrator] There's a danger
the tower's slender legs
will crumple as it's lowered,
and Chad's men are working
right underneath it.
>> We got a handful of guys
underneath 16,000 lb of steel
and another 20,000 lb of
machine. If any one of those
components fail, that tower's
coming down on top off them.
(Chad): OK, Travis we've got the
stiffeners in, we're holding
them right now. Come on down
easy.
[narrator] With Elvis's engines
at full thrust, he's burning
fuel fast and blasting the
ground crew with a hurricane
force downwash of 90 mph.
>> Looks like the guys are
having trouble fighting that
downwash right now.
(Chad): 10, 8, 5, 3, 2, 1.
You're at inches, inches.
You're on the deck.
[narrator] The danger's not over
yet. The Air-Crane is still
anchored to the stricken tower.
The whole crew's safety now
relies on the 4 ingenious cargo
hooks. Each hook can hold over
6,000 lb, and they must release
their load in exact unison.
This precision engineering
mimics the vice-like grip
of an airborne mammal.
Bats have evolved a unique way
of sleeping.
As it comes in to roost,
the bat's own bodyweight causes
a ratchet-like tendon in the
claws to lock a talon around
the perch. The talons allow
the bat to sleep safely,
using almost no energy.
The Air-Crane's claw-like hooks
also lock completely shut
despite the weight of a load.
A signal from the cockpit
rotates a magnet inside
each hook, which releases
a hammer and opens the claw.
It's critical all 4 hooks
release exactly when Travis
commands to give Elvis a safe
exit from the danger zone.
(Chad): Four hooks clear.
Nice job, Travis.
(Travis): Nice job, everybody.
>> He's only got so much fuel so
if he would have hovered and the
guys couldn't have got
stiffeners in fast enough, he
probably would have just laid it
down
and destroyed the tower,
or worst case scenario,
just punched it loose.
[narration] Luckily for the men
on the ground and in the air,
the hooks did their job.
(Travis): Those hooks, it's
pretty critical that they
all open at the same time.
[narration] Should the hooks
fail to open, Travis has
a last ditch solution
at his fingertips.
Buried inside the Air-Crane's
spine is the pilots' emergency
life insurance: a tiny cartridge
known as a squib.
It's packed with explosives.
At the push of a button,
the explosive force drives
a guillotine blade right
through the thick steel cable,
jettisoning any load.
(Travis): I call the squib
my "get out of jail" free card.
Oh God, I hope I never have
to use that thing.
[narration] Elvis finally makes
a pit stop. It's a chance
for the crew to regroup.
>> That was a little bit wild
for us. We don't like to see
things get out of control that
far.
BRAD WARREN, Pilot, Erickson
Air-Crane: We're just parking
for a bit, taking a break and
letting the wind die off.
[narration] Only 2 days into
their 8-day mission and already
delayed, waiting is not a game
boss Jamie can afford to play.
>> We're falling behind schedule
and losing money pretty
much every second that
it's not flying.
[narrator] Elvis grounded,
there's only one team still
at work.
>> OK, Steve, you got engine;
Jake, attic.
[narrator] Clocking in
600 hours' flight time a year,
it's vital the mechanics
keep their machine in perfect
working order.
STEVE LAVOIE, mechanic, Erickson
Air-Crane: Basically, we're
trying to find where Elvis is
telling us, "Hey, I'm a little
weak here."
[narration] To help the
mechanics find weak spots,
Elvis has a clever way
to communicate built right
inside his rotor blades.
Under their skin lies a cunning
crack detector. The inside
of each hollow blade is pumped
full of high-pressure nitrogen.
This gas pushes out the piston
on a pressure gauge. Any loss
of nitrogen, and the indicator
slides inwards, warning the crew
of even the tiniest cracks.
The mechanics' priority is
keeping Elvis in top shape,
and construction boss Jamie's
number one concern is getting
him back up in the air.
>> Hey, Dave, you got a copy?
[narrator] But not before
they assess the wind.
>> You got a wind speed check?
>> That is miles per hour.
>> Miles per hour, yup.
She's gusting up to 42.3.
>> OK. Wow, that's not going
to be good.
[narration] Handling
8 tons of swinging steel
in 40-mph gusts
is too dangerous for the men
on the ground. It's time
to break the news to Jamie.
(Dave): Yeah, we got gusts over
40 right now and it's pretty
high.
(censor beeps)
>> We're down for the day.
(censor beep)
[narrator] Deep in Canada's
Alberta Prairies, a major
new power line emerges from
the wilderness.
Battling building winds, Jamie's
crew is now 5 days into
their 8-day mission to assemble
121 giant electrical towers.
70 down, 51 to go.
It's a huge challenge.
>> The wind definitely makes us
work a lot harder. These
structures, as you can probably
see, with the wind on them,
it twists them and turns them,
and pushes them back.
(both): Yes.
[narrator] Today's forecast
is ominous. No one knows
what the wind is going to do.
To kick off, chief pilot Travis
moves into the front seat and
co-pilot Brad takes control
of the rear bubble.
>> You ready to go or are you
going to hold, or what?
(Brad): I think Jamie was ready,
wasn't he?
(Travis): Yup, I think we're
going to go.
(Brad): I think we're ready.
(mooing)
>> Ah...
(censor beep)
Looks like we have cattle
in the heli yard. That's going
to put a stop to us.
(Brad): We're ready.
[narrator] Just as they are set
for takeoff, a herd of cattle
wanders in amongst the towers
Elvis is about to lift.
>> Got to get them over to this
side of the fence apparently.
>> Hip!
(whistling)
Come on, cows!
>> In, Terry!
[narration] Jamie rounds up
fellow ground crew Terry and
Dave to herd the cows off
the field.
>> Push them this way.
>> Aaah!
>> Turn around, you're going
the wrong way.
>> This way, Terry, this way.
Just keep them on this side.
You can pretty much tell Terry's
never worked with cattle before.
[narration] But country boy
Jamie soon whips his rookie
cowboys into shape.
>> Clap, clap, clap!
That's it, that's it.
>> Woah, woah, woah! Hey!
[narrator] The herd moves on
in the nick of time.
>> Aaah! Sometimes, we like
to chase cattle around.
It's for fun.
(mooing)
>> OK, good. This is our
first tower set right here.
(man on radio): Yeah, the
wind's coming out of the North
pretty good. I'm not sure
what you wanna do there.
>> See how it goes. If we don't
like it, we'll turn around.
[narration] There could be
trouble ahead as the wind picks
up. Most helicopters would
struggle to lift their own
bodyweight in these winds, but
this is no ordinary helicopter.
>> This wind is getting old.
[narrator] Hidden under the Air
Crane's transmission is a box of
tricks to help ride the gusts.
Inside sits a gyroscope,
a microscopic motion detector.
It senses the Air-Crane's every
move. It's an inspired invention
whose design owes a debt
to the humble crane fly.
Its hind wings have evolved
into tiny vibrating drumsticks.
Where they attach to the body,
a group of sensory nerve cells
keeps track of the fly's
position. Bypassing the brain,
they send course corrections
straight to the wing muscles.
This helps the crane fly ride
out the most turbulent gusts.
The Air-Crane's gyroscope
is 6 times smaller, but just as
clever. Inside it a weight
vibrates up and down.
When strong winds blast Elvis
off course, the gyroscope
triggers a signal which travels
directly to the rotor head.
This automatically corrects
the tilt of the blades before
the pilots can even blink.
As the ground crew prepares the
next batch of towers a mile down
the line, Jamie hooks up this
first top section on his own.
>> Jamie's going to do the hero
thing here: the one-man hookup.
(Jamie): 30, 20, 10, 5.
Hold it there. Coming up.
[narrator] Elvis's gyroscope
and Brad's smooth piloting
give Jamie an easy ride.
>> Looking good, going up.
Hooks clear.
>> OK.
>> Nice job.
>> That went way better
than expected.
[narrator] 16,000-lb
top section safely attached,
it's only a 600-yard hop
to Dave's set site.
>> You're probably about
60 over. Oh sure, you're going
to face south on this one.
>> I lost it there...
>> Hello?!
[narrator] Out of nowhere,
a sudden blast of wind swings
the tower sideways, knocking
Elvis off course.
(censor beep)
>> Holy áááá!
>> The wind is really toying
with them.
>> Everything OK there?
>> We probably ought to abort it
here somewhere.
(censor beep)
[narrator] Travis makes the
call to abort. It's just not
safe to keep flying. They must
ground the tower immediately,
and Jamie's the only man
within range. He'll have
to go it alone.
>> We'll see how we do here!
>> We probably ought to abort it
here somewhere.
[narrator] Violent winds are
battering the 8-ton steel tower
like a toy. And the Air-Crane
is burning fuel fast.
Boss Jamie's ground crew can't
reach him in time, so he must
bring the tower in on his own.
>> 8, 6, 5,
4, 3...
[narrator] To stop the tower's
spindly legs from crumpling as
it's lowered, Jamie must fight
the hurricane force rotor-wash
to single-handedly force in
the metal stiffeners.
>> He's really fighting it.
>> Yup.
>> Jamie's breathing hard.
(laughing)
>> Oh, I'm out of breath.
That went surprisingly well.
I'm quite impressed at how well
that went.
[narration] Fast footwork on
the ground and an incredible
helicopter in the air save
the day.
(Jamie): That was exciting!
[narrator] A week of punishing
winds take its toll on man
but not machine.
>> It's been a strenuous week.
A lot of ups and downs.
Everybody's tired, everybody's
wore out. Just ready
to get this done.
[narrator] Finally, they get
the break they've desperately
needed as the gusts die down.
>> You're on fire, Vic!
>> I'm glad the wind finally
died off for us, Boys are in a
rhythm today. We're catching up,
making up for lost time.
[narrator] Pedal to the metal,
the Air-Crane sets a structure
every 7 minutes.
(Jamie): Even with 100 guys on
the ground, that helicopter will
still stay ahead of us by far.
[narration] They power through
36 hours of good weather...
...to set the last tower
in place.
(Travis): Alrighty, that's the
last one. Stick a fork in her,
boys, I think we're done.
(man on radio): Copy.
>> You set a record!
>> No.
>> I've never seen towers
go out that fast in my life.
>> Pretty badass,
I must say myself.
[narrator] Only a few hours over
their 8-day schedule, 121 giant
towers now straddle Alberta's
challenging landscape.
With the power cables strung,
this line will form a critical
link in Western Canada's
upgraded grid, feeding the
province's booming oil towns.
>> You guys fought weather
for the last week a bit
and got the job done safely.
Great job, guys!
(all cheering)
[narrator] The star of the
mission is Elvis, the king
of heavyweight helicopters.
>> Our lives depend on him, our
livelihoods depend on him. And
the towers are all standing, we
had zero injuries. The crews are
happy and they're all going to
go home. So yeah, we're stoked.
>> Thank you.
>> Thank you, guys. Great job.
>> You can't get any better of
a machine for this type of job.
And I think we've proved that
in the last 8.5 days.
[narration] With a few more
clicks on his milometer,
Elvis heads for the next mission
to face challenges beyond
the capabilities of any normal
heavy lifter.
All thanks to precision-
engineered rotor blades,
spinning at 490 mph,
jet engines with the power
of 12 Formula One cars...
a lightning-fast gyroscope
to ride the gusts,
the world's only rear-facing
helicopter pilot station
and claw-like hooks with
an unbreakable grip.
It's these technological
secrets that have helped
this helicopter evolve to rise
above all other machines.
Subtitles: Epilogue Technical Services Inc.