Futurenergy AirForce1 Installation guide

AirForce1 Tower Kit
Installation and Training Manual
FuturEnergy Limited
Ettington Park Business Centre
Stratford upon Avon
CV37 8BT
[phone]

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Table of Contents
Safety Notes............................................................................................................................................ 3
Parts Supplied With Kit ........................................................................................................................... 3
Parts Required But Not Supplied With the (basic) Kit ............................................................................4
Tools & Equipment Required For Installation......................................................................................... 4
Tower Location ....................................................................................................................................... 4
Ground Anchor Installation..................................................................................................................... 5
Installation Procedure............................................................................................................................. 6
Step 1 –Setting out............................................................................................................................. 6
Step 2 –Fitting Ground Brackets ........................................................................................................ 7
Step 3 –Prepare Tower Tubes and Gin Pole.......................................................................................9
Tube Drilling....................................................................................................................................9
Step 4 –Tower Tube Assembly.........................................................................................................10
Step 5 –Gin Pole Attachment...........................................................................................................11
Step 6 –Assembly Guy Ropes...........................................................................................................12
Step 7 –Trial Tower Raising..............................................................................................................14
Step 8 –Fitting the AirForce1 Turbine.............................................................................................. 16
Tower Maintenance..............................................................................................................................18

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Safety Notes
The Futurenergy Tower Kit has been design to be a low cost tower solution for use with the Airforce
1 wind turbine. Raising and lowering towers can be dangerous if done incorrectly or in high winds or
other adverse weather conditions. Futurenergy does not accept responsibility in any way for
personal injury, damage to equipment or damage to property from using this kit. The following
instructions represent what Futurenergy believe to be the safest way to erect a tower using the
parts supplied. However, it is the installer’s responsibility to assess the hazards involved with its use.
Futurenergy recommend using an experienced installer for initial installation who may be able to
provide training for future raising and lowering of the tower to the end user.
The following is a list of key safety points.
1. Install the tower / turbine well away from (a distance greater than the tower height)
overhead power cables, buildings, livestock, roads, vehicle parking areas, paths, children’s
play areas and any other area that a failed installation attempt or falling tower may cause
injury or damage.
2. Do not use the tower kit with any other turbine (turbine loading is calculated only for the
Airforce 1).
3. Use personal safety clothing when working with items at height (hard hat, safety shoes).
4. Have help, at least three people should be involved when raising / lowering the tower
manually.
Parts Supplied With Kit
P0083, Ground Anchor 5 off
P0094, M16 Ground Anchor Screw 5 off
P0093, M16 Washer 5 off
P0224, Guy Rope Floor Bracket 3 off
P0330, Turnbuckle Unit, Cone Clamp & rope grips 8 off
P0086, Steel Rope (5m & 7.5m Long) 8 off
A0023, Tube Coupling 2 off
P0092, M12 x 35 Long Screw 8 off
P0091, M12 Nylock Nut 11 off
P0227, Base Hinge Bracket 1 off
P0598/9, Gin Pole Ground Bracket 1 off

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P0253, M12 x 90 Long Screw 3 off
P0597, Key clamp Tee piece 1 off
Parts Required But Not Supplied With the (basic) Kit
3mtr Length of 48mm O/D x 4mm Wall Scaffold Tube 2 off
3.1mtr Length of 48mm O/D x 4mm Wall Scaffold Tube 1 off
2mtr Length of 48mm O/D x 4mm Wall Scaffold Tube 1 off
Tools & Equipment Required For Installation
6mtr (minimum) Length of Rope (capable of loading with 250 kg)
10mtr length of light rope or string (for pulling cables through the tower)
A Builders Trestle
Slide Hammer or Sledge Hammer.
Drill & 12.5mm Drill Bit (If tube drilling is required)
Grinder with cutting disc (If tube cutting is required)
Tools for tightening bolts, grub screw and key clamp screws
Personal safety equipment
Tower Location
Location of a wind turbine to get maximum performance is not covered here at least to say they
work best in open spaces with few surrounding trees or buildings. Futurenergy strongly recommends
that its turbines are not installed on buildings because of poor performance, due to turbulent air
flow, damage to building structure and noise generated within the building. A tower should always
be used.
The kit is supplied with ground anchors so no concrete foundation is required, these fixings can also
be removed so the whole tower could be relocated at any time. (See the following chapter regarding
ground anchor installation). As stated above the best position for the turbine and therefore the
tower is in open space away from trees and buildings, if there are obstructions then at least a clear
view towards the prevailing wind direction for the area should be sort. It is preferable to install on

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flat ground so that guy rope lengths are equal. A circular area of 6 meters diameter is required for
the guy ropes to be located.
Ground Anchor Installation
Ensure the chosen location for the ground anchor is free from any buried services such as electrical
cables, gas pipes or drains. The general method of installing the anchors is to drive them in with a
hammer –a slide hammer with a runner that can locate on the M16 anchor thread is the best way. A
heavy hammer will be most effective however many short blows will ensure that the anchor screws
into the ground with minimal disturbance to the surrounding earth. If obstacles such as tree roots,
bricks or stones are encountered then a few heavier blows will normally send the anchor through
such items. Again care should be taken that such obstacles are not buried services.
The required pull force for each of the 4 guy rope ground anchors is 276 Kg (2.76 kN) for a 50-year
maximum wind speed of 52.5 m/s (117 mph). The type of ground anchor supplied is a 50mm X
650mm long Spirafix. By using the above graph it can be calculated that even in a low cohesive
granular soil the specified ground anchor will be sufficient and resist being pulled from the ground in

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wind speeds up to the 50-year maximum gust value. Spirafix recommend that a pull test be done
prior to installing the anchor to ensure the ground is suitable. The graph is to be used as a guide
only.
Because the ground anchors (and turbine) have survival limits and the destructive force of the wind
increases exponentially with wind speed, it is important to consider lowering the tower when very
strong winds are forecast. This will reduce the chance of damage to the equipment.
Strong winds will cause the ground anchors to be loaded in varying directions over time so it is
important to check the anchors on a regular basis (the frequency dependant on weather and ground
conditions).
Installation Procedure
Step 1 –Setting out
Once you are happy with your chosen location, start marking out the position of the Spirafix ground
anchors. Cut a piece of string, make a loop in one end and trim it so it was the radius of the circle for
the four, peripheral anchors (3m long). If space is a little limited and the ground uneven the piece of
string is also ideal for finding the best location for the central anchor. Do this by attaching one end to
a stake that represents the central anchor (A1) and walk the circle whilst holding the end.

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At this stage it's very important to decide which direction the tower will be raised and lowered. You
cannot change this afterwards without moving all the perimeter ground anchors. If on a particular
site it is difficult to drive the central anchor in vertically because of ground conditions, any slight
angle in the bracket fixed the anchor will dictate the raising and lowering direction.
Note that the tower must raise and lower towards one of the corner anchors –this is important as
an attempt to raise or lower in any other direction could be dangerous.
Once the central anchor location is chosen and anchor driven in to the ground use the 3m length of
string to locate corner anchor A2 (on the above diagram) and install this anchor.
For the remaining 3 anchors use the 3m string to ensure that the distance from the central anchor is
consistent to avoid problems with guy rope lengths and that the anchors are positioned accurately in
a square pattern with an anchor in each corner. The distance from anchor A2 to A3 is 4.25m.
All corner ground anchors must be driven in to the ground by their full lengths to gain maximum pull
strength capacity. The central anchor is in compression due to the weight of the tower and turbine.
Step 2 –Fitting Ground Brackets
When all ground anchors are installed fit the central hinge bracket P0227 using the supplied M16
screw and washer, as with all the fixings use a small amount of medium strength thread lock
adhesive on the screw thread to prevent the fixing loosening over time. This bracket forms a hinge
with the mast and will need to be positioned in line with the direction that the tower will be raised.
Next, install the 3 guy rope / ground anchor fixing brackets to the 2 corner ground anchors that are
not in the direction that the tower is to be raised and the remaining bracket to the corner in which
Ground Anchor
(Below Ground Level)
Bracket P0227
Note! Hinge Direction

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the tower is to lower towards. These 3 fixings will have guy ropes permanently attached to them,
even during raising and lowering.
Install the brackets in line with the direction that the guy ropes will travel (pointing towards the
tower). Again fix these brackets with the supplied M16 screws and washers using some thread lock.
The final ground fixing point to fit is the gin pole fixing. This is a bracket comprised of 2 parts P0598
& P0599 couple together for form a U shape –the slots in the bracket and the hole for the 16mm
screw should be in alignment when the 2 parts of the bracket are put together.
Gin pole fixing (P0598
& P0599)
Ground Anchor (Below
Ground Level)
Guy Ropes
Gin Pole

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Fix the bracket to the ground anchor using the M16 screw and washer provided using thread lock on
the screw. The bracket should be installed in line with the direction that the tower will raise and
lower but on the opposite corner so that the tower lowers away from this bracket.
Step 3 –Prepare Tower Tubes and Gin Pole
The tower kit may or may not have been supplied with tower tube; if it is not supplied then this will
need to be locally sourced. The tube itself is the type typically used in the construction of scaffolding
or hand railing in the building industry and is generally galvanised as standard and readily available
from a builder merchants or steel stockholders. The tube is typically supplied in 6m lengths, 2
lengths will be required.
The supplier may be able to cut these to length, the required lengths are;
2 off - 3m long (Lower Tower Sections)
1 off - 2m long (Top Tower Section)
1 off - 3.1m long (Gin Pole)
The size of tube is 48.3mm outside diameter X 4.0mm wall thickness, mild steel with a galvanised
finish.
Tube Drilling
One of the lower tube sections needs to be drill at its base so that it can be fixed to the central
ground anchor bracket. The gin pole also needs drilling in two positions for ground anchor fixing and
for guy rope attachment.

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The above is a drawing showing the lengths of tube required and the positions of drilled holes, the
holes are drilled fully through the tubes.
Step 4 –Tower Tube Assembly
Lay the three tower sections in order on the ground starting with the bottom section with the hole
close to the base hinge bracket already fixed to the centre ground anchor. Thread the length of cable
pulling rope through this tower section (and subsequent tower sections) for cable pulling when
ready. Slide the supplied ‘Tee’ piece onto the bottom of the tube.

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Using one of the M12 x 90 long screws and nuts fix the tower section to the hinge bracket to form
the hinge –do not over tighten this nut, just tighten sufficiently to take out side clearance in the
bracket allowing the hinge to still operate.
On the top of the first tower section position one of the tower couplings (A0023), the coupling has
internal stops that mark how far in the tube will sit in to the coupling –the tube should be fully up to
the stops. Rotate the coupling so that the guy rope lugs will point to the four corner ground anchors
when the tower is erected and tighten the grub screws (using thread lock adhesive) to clamp the
coupling to the tube.
Repeat the tower assembly with the remaining two tower sections and coupling ensuring that the
lugs point to the ground anchors and that the grub screws have been tightened. The top section is
the 2m tube length.
Do not forget to run the length of cable pulling rope through the whole tower so that the turbines
electrical cables can then be drawn through.
Step 5 –Gin Pole Attachment
The tower uses a gin pole to aid raising and lowering. Although it is possible to raise the tower
without a gin pole it is highly recommended that it is always used as it makes the raising and
lowering process much easier and safer.

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Attach the none-drilled end of the gin pole in to the ‘Tee’ piece already fitted to the base tower
section. The gin pole needs to stand vertically, perpendicular to the ground and tower as it lays on
the ground. The ‘Tee’ piece can be positioned at any point along the base tower tube. Normally,
with the tower installed on flat level ground, the tee will be at the very bottom of the tower,
however if the ground has a slight gradient upwards the tee will need to be raised so that when the
tower is upright the end of the gin pole will fall within reach of the ground anchor bracket.
Tighten the screws on the tee piece sufficiently to prevent movement using thread lock adhesive on
the screw threads.
Step 6 –Assembly Guy Ropes
Supplied with the kit are eight guy rope assemblies, four long and four short. All guy ropes are
installed while the tower is down. Start by attaching the four short ropes to the lower tower section
coupling using the supplied M12 screws through the coupling lug and the preformed eyelet on the
end of the guy ropes. Do not over tighten the screws just take out clearance so that the eyelet can
rotate if it needs to –the supplied nylock nuts will prevent the screws working lose. Attach the four
long ropes to the upper tower coupling.
The guy ropes either side of the gin pole can be tensioned before the tower is raised, doing this
helps with stability whilst lifting. The guys that attached to the end of the gin and to the ground

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anchor opposite the gin pole need to be set at an approximate length (using the length of the side
guys as a guide) and fully tensioned once the tower is up.
Each guy rope needs to be assembled with a supplied Wedge Socket, Rope Grip and then an Eye &
Jaw Rigging Screw. The rigging screws need to be set to an extended position so that there is enough
thread to tension the guy rope and for future tensioning. To assembly the wedge first position a
Rope Grip on to the cable for tightening later then thread the end of the guy rope through the
opening in the end of the socket body. Then insert the wedge part loosely into the housing, pointed
end first, so that it sits beside the guy rope. The end of the rope can then be looped back and
threaded into the housing so that it sits along the opposite side of the wedge. Most of the required
guy rope tension can be applied by threading more rope through the wedge assembly.
The rigging screw is fitted to the wedge socket via its loop eye end and the pin on the wedge socket,
the opposite end of the end rigging screw is then attached to either one of the holes in the ground
anchor bracket using the small nut and bolt that comes with the rigging screw –use thread lock
adhesive on the bolts threads to ensure it will not work loose by itself.

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The guy ropes that fix to the end of the gin pole do so with a supplied M12 x 90 long screw and
nylock nut.
Step 7 –Trial Tower Raising
With all guy ropes attached it is essential to raise the tower without the turbine on top to check the
guy rope lengths are correct and to check the tower is vertical when erected. It is a lot easier to do
this without the 22 Kg turbine on top.
It is strongly recommended that three people are involved with tower lifting and lowering. Using a
device to winch the tower up may reduce the need for additional hands but that is not covered by
these instructions and is done entirely at the user’s risk.
Remember to tie off the rope that has been passed through the tower tube for cable pulling so that
it does not fall back down during trail lifting.

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Attach a rope to the end of the gin pole so that the rope will not slide down the pole –the knot
should be good, if this rope should become detached from the tower it will fall back to the ground.
The rope can be pulled by this attachment or it can pass via the gin pole ground anchor bracket
(under the remaining M12 x 90 gin pole fixing screw). Passing the rope to the ground anchor fixing to
lift the tower will help as it ensures an equal pulling force throughout the process whereas pulling
directly on the gin pole directly will result in a diminishing pulling force as the rope becomes more
aligned with the gin pole.
If using the method pictured ensure that ground anchor used on this corner is installed to the
required specification as load on this anchor will be significant, similar to a 50-year maximum gust
event.
During all work that involves items above head height always wear appropriate health and safety
equipment, in this case hard hats and steel toe cap boots.
To raise the tower two people should pull the gin pole rope while a third person lifts the tower
directly. The person lifting the tower should not position themselves directly under the tower in case
the gin pole rope should become detached causing the load of the tower to become too great for
this person to hold. As the tower lifts the person pushing it up directly should move down the tower
towards the central anchor to assist in lifting the whole of the time.
When the tower is fully up it can be held up by pushing down on the gin pole until the gin pole has
been bolted to the ground anchor bracket –no not forget to do this as the tower can freely hinge
back down to the ground.

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With the tower successfully raised the guy ropes can be tensioned. When tensioning is complete the
remaining wire rope (excess length) can be attached to the tensioned rope using the supplied rope
grips. These grips act as a secondary device –to fit correctly, the tensioned cable should be saddled
first in to the grip body then the loose cable and U bolt before tightening.
To lower the tower back down, whilst supporting the tower and preventing the gin pole from lifting,
remove the bolt fixing the gin pole to the gin pole anchor bracket. Attach a rope in the same way the
rope was attached for lifting the tower. With one person supporting the tower directly and two
people taking the rope strain lower the tower to the floor. The person supporting the tower directly
should not be stood directly under the path that the tower will fall and, whilst walking backwards as
the tower falls, should be aware that various guy ropes will be trip hazards.
Step 8 –Fitting the AirForce1 Turbine
Place the end of the tower on a builder’s trestle or something similar. Turbine assembly is not
covered here; refer to the turbine instructions for this information. Before fitting the turbine to the
top of the tower complete the electrical connections –it is important to electrically brake the
turbine whilst installing so that it is not free-running, especially when there is a breeze on the day.
Electrical braking can be done either by using a FuturEnergy Stop Switch or by shorting together the
cables from the turbine.

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Fit the turbine to the top of the tower and secure using the two grub screws that clap the tower
tube –use thread lock adhesive on the grub screw threads.
Before lifting the complete tower and turbine assembly ensure all guy ropes are attached, only the
gin pole bolt should need to be attached when raised. Be aware that the tower now has an extra
22Kgs on the top so lifting will be more difficult, however if all the procedures in these instructions
have been followed raising the tower will be straight forward without risk of injury or damage to the
product.

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Tower Maintenance
The amount of maintenance required by the tower will be dependent on ground conditions and the
average wind speed in the area (which will change with season).
Items that need checking are;
Ground anchors –for their key with the ground.
Guy ropes –guy rope tension.
Nuts and bolts –check tightness.
Tower couplings –grub screw tightness and any wear.
Turbine (maintenance information in turbine instructions).

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In the following days after initial installation check the ground anchors are ‘as’installed and check
guy rope tension. Re-tension the guy ropes if necessary. If re-tensioning was required then repeat
the check in the following days.
Higher level parts can only be checked visually whilst the tower is up, however if it is taken down
due to expected extreme weather then all items should be checked at this opportunity. At the very
least the tower should be taken down for a maintenance check within the first three months and
then every twelve months. The frequency of these checks will need to be altered depending on local
weather conditions experienced.