Measuring a world record attempt for highest altitude catch

作者：梅根·汉森（Megan Hansen），阿纳贝拉·费尔南德斯（Anabela Fernandes）

澳大利亚的测量和工程公司Land Surveyshas been involved in a wide range of projects over their 24 years in business, completing gyroscopic mining surveys, laser scans of hospitals, engineering surveys of solar farms, sand accretion monitoring on Penguin Island and many more. Offering specialities in aerial, engineering and hydrographic surveys, laser scanning, spatial data analysis and other services, it’s fair to say there isn’t much in the surveying world they haven’t seen or worked on.

Yet, when they were asked to provide official measurements for Australian Football League legend Bredan Fevola’s world record attempt to catch an American football dropped from a helicopter, they were in new territory. However, with the combination of their vast experience and Leica Geosystems’ high accuracy instruments and field software, they were ready to tackle the challenge.

2021年6月，布伦丹·菲沃拉（Brendan Fevola）向听众宣布了他的共同主持的早晨广播节目Fox FM墨尔本的演出“ Fifi，FEV和Nick，”that he would attempt to oust the reigning Guinness World Record holder for highest altitude catch of an American football. Breaking the record meant Fevola needed to catch – or, in Australian rules football terms, “mark” - a football thrown out of a hovering helicopter from 198 metres. The record to beat was set by National Football League (NFL) player and Superbowl champion, Rob Gronkowski, only months before with a catch from 188.9 metres.

Fevola是前球迷最喜欢的AFL播放器转身主持人，他熟悉了巨大的成就：在他的职业生涯中，他是Coleman奖牌的两次获得赛季的冠军，这是一个赛季的大多数进球和一个全澳大利亚人在卡尔顿足球俱乐部任职期间的选拔。就像他在球场上的岁月一样，他提议的破纪录的冒险也是团队的努力。成功设置该活动包括协调直升机服务，与民航安全局的通关以及准确，可证明的测量。

This is where Land Surveys was called in to fulfil a crucial role on the team. Founded in 1997 by Peter Rullo in Perth, Western Australia, today Land Surveys has over 260 employees across the country, giving them the workforce and knowledge to master small and large projects alike. The Melbourne branch of Land Surveys was excited to bring their experience to contribute to what the morning radio show dubbed “Fev’s Massive Mark.”

“This was a unique opportunity as our Melbourne team’s usual setting involves surveying jobs at ground level on high-rises and other construction sites. It was great to be involved in an attempt to break a World Record,” said the Melbourne Land Surveys team.

Tackling the challenge with a total station

As exciting as the opportunity was, Land Surveys had several challenges to contend with to meet the requirements by the Guinness World Record organization. To verify the height that the football would be dropped from the helicopter, Land Surveys used twoLeica TS16robotic total stations at ground level while a surveyor held aLeica GRZ4 360° prismthrough the open door of a helicopter.

The TS16, known for its ability to complete a wide variety of measurement tasks and applications, also features functionalities likeAutoHeight, which measures instrument height with the push of a button. This enables a quick, error-free setup that lets the Land Surveys team get right to work. Additionally, the GRZ4 360° prism delivers an overall accuracy of 2-5 millimetres and an automatic target recognition of up to 600 metres, ensuring that the Land Surveys team would be able to lock onto their high-flying target to secure the measurement.

Paired withLeica Captivatefield software to capture the data necessary to supply evidence within Guinness World Record guidelines, their work “ensured that the ball was dropped from a precisely measured point high above ground level,” recalls the Melbourne Land Surveys team. “Our goal was to provide Brendan Fevola and his team with an accurate height measurement conducted by a qualified surveyor to verify that the NFL ball was dropped from the correct height.”

The official attempt: measuring a mark from a flying target

当世界纪录打破尝试的一天到来时，Fevola和Team遇到了阴天的天空和间歇性的风阵风。在一个泥泞，宽阔的露天中间，他们完成了热身的巡回赛，并进行了调整以在重要的时刻设置。

从直升机上的目标很难，风使球的下降方向不确定。随着跑步跑步的几个接球，该团队为最终的正式尝试做了准备。与直升机中的机组人员进行交流，并锁定在棱镜上，给土地调查团队带来了独特的挑战。但是，最终，他们能够实现稳定的锁，确认了标记的正确高度。

With measurement validation, the football was thrown to Fevola, who appeared little more than a white dot below. Tracking the ball through the air as it plummeted 198 meters, Fevola raced across the field to intercept it. Unfortunately, the football narrowly ricocheted out of his hands.

尽管目前的唱片仍然不完整，但激动人心的尝试引起了国际关注，并为墨尔本“ Fifi，FEV和Nick”的球迷提供了一场有趣的活动。此外，土地调查创造了自己的记录，成功完成了一个稀有项目，辜负了他们的公司座右铭“没有问题，只是解决方案”，并证明Leica Geosystems设备是适合最具挑战性或最不寻常的测量的正确选择。任务。

正如土地调查团队所说的那样，这就是为什么“ Leica Geosystems是我们公司的首选设备”，并且已经21年了。