Measuring a world record attempt for highest altitude catch

Authors: Megan Hansen, 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.

In June 2021, Brendan Fevola announced to listeners of his co-hosted morning radio show, Fox FM Melbourne’s“Fifi, Fev and 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, the former fan-favourite AFL player turned radio host, is familiar with big achievements: during his career as a full forward, he was a two-time winner of the Coleman Medal for most goals kicked in a season and an All-Australian selection during his tenure with the Carlton Football Club. Like his years on the field, his proposed record-breaking venture was also a team effort. Successfully setting up the event included coordinating helicopter services, clearances with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and accurate, certifiable measurements.

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.”

“这是一个独特的机会,因为我们的墨尔本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.

TS16以完成各种测量任务和应用的能力而闻名，还具有功能等功能Autoheight, 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.”

官方尝试：测量飞行目标的标记

When the day for the world record breaking attempt arrived, Fevola and team were met with overcast skies and intermittent wind gusts. In the middle of a muddy, wide open field, they completed warm up rounds and adjustments to set up for the big moment.

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。

That’s why, as the Land Survey’s team says, “Leica Geosystems is our company’s equipment of choice” and has been for 21 years.