The Biggest Flag anybody has flown from a pole/how high?

[HikerFedEx]

#48090 |

I love this event. Great cause. But I also love a challenge. Tall trees? No problem – huge pole. Ultimately, you could downsize the flag a bit if necessary.

But I’m just wondering what is the largest flag anybody has actually flown from a pole?

We’ve successfully flown our 8×12 on a 28′ mast on Zealand (’10) [3 wicked heavy duty 6′ aluminum poles & a 10′ x 2″ PVC top with a halyard to hoist it after guyed out.

’11 on Adams we used 20’x3″ PVC to fly our 8×12, again with halyard (pulley) after guyed out. Pretty solid. I think the flag would shred before it failed.

This year we’re gonna fly our 10×17 Flag on about 25′ pole, probably all 3″ PVC, with halyard/pulley system. Maybe taller.

The real reason I ask is besides the cost of huge flags, the height required to keep the flag off the ground if the wind pauses seems daunting. If we brought a 15×25 it could drape 29 feet! A 30′ pole would barely suffice. And it better be super strong when the wind kicks up. A 20×30 could drape 36 feet!

Or do people flying large flags just assume it’ll never droop to full length on the open summits? (Then I could see where you could fly a 20×38 or even 25×45 in theory. I guess you could just build a rugged 30-35′ mast & take turns watching for the flag to suddenly droop & catch it. And take it down if the wind dies.

Or am I missing something???

:flag: :flag: :flag: :flag: :flag:

Gary Hebert

2010 Zealand
2011 Adams
2012 Madison

[SilentCal]

#55241

From a pole, I am uncertain.

You are going to need a few things should you choose to attempt this. A good crew for hauling up supplies and PVC. Lots of guyrope. and the most important thing: a sense of humor if you have a mishap. :flag:

[HikerFedEx]

#55242

And hard hats !!

[Chris]

#55243

I think the biggest problem you’re going to have is with the guy lines. In order to keep the pole from falling you’ll need several lines, and they will interfere with the flag’s ability to rotate around the pole. You’re going to end up with a tangled mess. But I love the idea of flying the biggest flag you can!

[HikerFedEx]

#55244

So far guy lines weren’t an issue since so far our biggest flag’s height was 10′ or less. Guyed out just below flag & also 1 tethered at very top of pole ( which could require slight adjustment in major wind directional shift). Now a larger flag w a height of say 15-20′ with a 30-40′ pole could be more of an issue, though you could try topmost guys at very steep angle close to the pole – less effective as guy wires, but might allow just enough flag rotation without tangling. Otherwise the top 15-20′ (matching the flag height) would have to be very rigid without guy lines, placing much more stress at the point just below the flag

Our issue in pole design has been difficulty erecting (standing up) a strong enough tall enough pole in the 30+’ foot range.

We contemplated using a tall forked “assist stick” maybe 10-15′ to help push up the upper part of the tall pole. (cranes are usually much taller than poles they help erect)

In trials for Zealand a 30-34′ x 2″ PVC pole formed an inverted “U” when we tried standing it up, using our hands over our heads to “walk it up” like a ladder, forcing us to abort that plan. Hence why we switched to 3″ PVC 20′ pole for Adams.

Hmmmm….maybe THAT’S an idea – 25-35′ aluminum ladders are pretty easy for 1 person to walk up solo (when collapsed), then extend to full height. So that’s 2 concepts – telescoping AFTER vertical & build a ladder or 3 sided tower for strength

Other ideas?? Experience??

Gary

:flag: :flag: :flag:

[Author]

Posts