can a helicopter lift a tree stump out of the ground?

Question

this was a strange question my colleague

Answer 1

No helicopters aren't that strong, trying to pull a tree would probably make it loose balance and crash.

Answer 2

It does indeed depend on the size of the stump and the condition of its root anchorage and the size of the helicopter doing the lifting.

A customer showed me some holiday snaps the other day where a helicopter was being used to carry away very large sections of a tree being felled from the top down. These were very weighty sections of tree, so I guess in theory a helicopter may have sufficient upward thrust to lift out a stump.

It isn't the usual method though...

As an aside, farmers in the UK used to be able to obtain a black-powder license in order to blow tree stumps out of the ground. Now that's the way to deal with an old stump in style!

Answer 3

If it is a very small stump. Helicopters do not have a lot of upward power. They create lift but cannot create enough to do this on a large stump. A stump is very difficult to remove, otherwise trees would fall over quite easily.

Answer 4

Depends on what size tree, how deep the roots are, the size of the helicopter, the strength of the cable, and other variables. Helicopters are often used in rescue missions and are seen carrying loaded baskets so they can probably lift 3 or 4 hundred pounds.

Answer 5

probably

if the helicopter was small and the stump very large, like from a redwood or 300 year old tree maybe not

mostly they could

Answer 6

Maybe if the tree had been dead for a long time, had had root rot, or if the ground is unstable, but otherwise tree roots are pretty strong and covered in a lot of soil so I doubt it!

Answer 7

It depends on the tree and the helicopter.

Answer 8

no, its will put too much pressure on the helicopter engine depending on size of stump and size of helicopter, id recommend doing this with a boeing 747.

Answer 9

What size tree stump?

Answer 10

Yes only if the stump has been uprooted