News
A
crisp Scottish morning in winter, it was a day no different from any
other. The truck was fully gassed, and our kit was packed away, ready
for another day of adventure for Cyberhawk pilot Craig and engineer
Andrew.
At Cyberhawk, we take care to plan for any eventuality
and look forward to an adventure. But nothing could prepare the guys for
what was about to happen.
Craig and Andrew equipped to travel 80-plus miles deep into Scottish wilderness to inspect the condition of 203 towers buried amongst the entangled trees and foliage.
They packed Joy, one of our trusty Falcon 8 drones for the job. The Falcon 8 is the perfect drone for capturing inspection photographs as its revolutionary ‘v’ shape makes it impossible to catch any intruding propellors within its visual periphery.
With the perfect drone in tow, our guys were confident that they could complete the job in one day – and bring home the gold-standard images and data that Cyberhawk is so renowned for.
The team set off on their journey, deep into one of the vastest stretches of Scottish woodland, otherwise known as Galloway Forest Park.
Sometimes referred to as Galloway Forest Dark Skies Park due to its obscenely dark conditions, the park is 480 square miles of forestry – and in the nighttime, very creepy.
It can be a dangerous place to survive and an easy place to get lost or stranded in – as our guys would soon learn.
Everything was going so smoothly; the team inspected all 203 lines,
all recorded in typical, efficient Cyberhawk fashion. Craig and Andrew
were a picture of professionalism and ahead of schedule.
Though if you were the superstitious type, you might be forgiven for thinking things had gone a little too smoothly.
As Craig and Andrew finished up and loaded up the vehicle with their gear, that’s when their fortunes began to change.
They had been aboard the Cyberhawk vehicle enroute home for no more than a few minutes, when one of its tires suffered a puncture after coming down a treacherous access road used by logging trucks.
Upon inspection, they realized this tire was going nowhere. And that their spare tire was also punctured. They needed help.
They immediately called for roadside help but were told nothing was available for four hours!
The
night sky arrives early during Scottish winters and as the sun began to
fall, so too did the temperature. Craig and Andrew quickly got into the
van for some heat and a source of light. The guys then decided this was
the perfect time to recount stories about UFOs and ghosts. As they
rallied through their favorite scary films, they soon realized that this
topic of conversation was not a good idea.
It’s safe to say they never left the truck again until the recovery vehicle arrived!
Four
hours came and passed by the time the mechanic finally arrived to patch
up the guys’ tire, before heading back into the night.
As they headed back home in their newly bandaged-up vehicle, the guys slipped back into relaxation mode as the idea of home looked to become a reality.
Eventually, they made it home somewhere close to midnight, cold and tired.
The night’s events would be enough to put most people off venturing into the deep dark woods for some time – but not our guys.
While
it was tough, Craig and Andrew knew that experiences like this are what
make working for Cyberhawk so special. Two of the company’s values that
we abide by every day are to ‘show up and have fun’ and ‘grow’. That
means learning from mistakes and having a good time doing it.
And
that’s why, the next time they were called upon to go on-site, they hit
the road to do it all over again, without hesitation.
Only this time they double-checked the condition of their spare before they left.