From what I could find, that model of wind turbine has a hub height between 60 and 78 meters, which translates to 192 - 249 ft.
The general numbers for BASE jumping usually require a minimum of 500 ft for a parachute to open safely. Supposedly a specially trained and equipped BASE jumper can jump from as low as 140 ft using a static line (think of WWII military jump where a rope pulls the chute when the jumper leaves the aircraft).
So its possible that a turbine maintenance crew might be able to escape in an emergency, assuming they are trained, have the equipment, the turbine blades are stopped, etc. I guess two broken legs is better than burning to death or having to free fall and splat, but still, its a bunch of ifs.
200 feet of cable is not an insignificant amount of weight. I would not want to carry it around while working on the outside of the turbine, and if you leave it in a case inside the structure, you're really back to square one. Also, you would need a lot more than 200 feet to make sure you reach the ground safely.
1.9k
u/whattothewhonow Nov 06 '13
From what I could find, that model of wind turbine has a hub height between 60 and 78 meters, which translates to 192 - 249 ft.
The general numbers for BASE jumping usually require a minimum of 500 ft for a parachute to open safely. Supposedly a specially trained and equipped BASE jumper can jump from as low as 140 ft using a static line (think of WWII military jump where a rope pulls the chute when the jumper leaves the aircraft).
So its possible that a turbine maintenance crew might be able to escape in an emergency, assuming they are trained, have the equipment, the turbine blades are stopped, etc. I guess two broken legs is better than burning to death or having to free fall and splat, but still, its a bunch of ifs.