The steep slopes and narrow drainage bottoms limited the size and location of 

 landing areas. Availability of landings is an important factor when laying out the 

 sale units; thus, the landings dictated much of the sale layout. Fortunately, the 

 balloon system layout is not further limited by cable deflection requirements, the only 

 requirement being that the main and haulback lines do not rub the ground. Small land- 

 ing size is a safety problem because the log deck can quickly become a jackstrawed maze 

 of logs when the loader used for clearing the log landing area is temporarily out of 

 service. This makes the unhooker's job especially dangerous during the unhooking 

 operation because of the possibility of shifting logs. In general, safety is decreased 

 when the landings are small because of the increased congestion of men and equipment. 

 Production is slowed with small landings since the swinging load of logs has to be 

 brought into the landing more slowly for adequate control in setting the logs down on a 

 small area. 



The tagline, to which the chokers are attached, was varied in length as the terrain 

 dictated. The longer length tagline allows the chokers to reach the ground with less 

 effort expended in pulling the balloon down. However, the longer tagline caused the 

 chokers and logs to swing more than a shorter tagline, thus taking more time to position 

 the chokers for hooking and unhooking. The optimum length for the tagline was judged 

 by the crew depending on wind, terrain, and logging set configuration, and tagline 

 length could vary at each cable road location. 



Tlie choker setter's job proved to be difficult for several reasons. The terrain is 

 steep, especially in some of the draws where slopes of 90 percent are encountered. This 

 made dragging the tagline difficult and scrambling from the area below the flight path 

 of the logs strenuous. It is particularly important from a safety standpoint to be 

 clear of the logs to avoid becoming entangled with the load or being hit by a falling 

 log or limb. Summer temperatures (sometimes around 100° F (37.8° C) ) and fall snows 

 and rains made the choker setter's job even more arduous. 



Yarder operators had to be conscientious and skillful to keep the overall operation 

 safe and efficient. Particular skill and quick thinking are required if a line breaks 

 or a stump pulls loose because the balloon builds up a large inertial force with a few 

 seconds of free flight. The balloon should be slowed gradually with the cable braking 

 system. Locking the brakes on the yarder drums could upset the yarder or snap the cable 

 when the balloon comes to the end of the slack in the cable. 



Rigging the balloon system as an inverted standing skyline was tried in order to 

 extend the system reach to over 5,000 ft (1,524 m) . This system used the mainline as 

 a standing skyline (nonmoving) and the carriage was inverted on the skyline (lifting 

 the skyline rather than pulling it down) because of the balloon's lifting force. The 

 carriage traveled along the skyline with the balloon pulling it uphill and the haulback 

 line pulling the carriage and the logs, downhill to the landing. The method was aband- 

 oned after 2 or 3 days because whipping and sawing of the skyline and haulback against 

 each other caused rapid cable wear. 



9 



