How to Lower a 60 Foot Flag Pole

Remove the flag and flag rope from the flag pole.

Hire a crawler crane and station the crane so that the right track is immediately adjacent and perpendicular to the base of the flag pole. Tell the crane operator to "boom right" (swing the boom of the crane to the right) and lower the whip line to the ground at the base of the flag pole.

Move the the wire sling to the side of the flag pole opposite the crane and slip one of the eyes (the end loop on the sling), called the working eye, through the other eye, to form a cinch around the flag pole. Raise the sling above the cleat used to secure the flag rope (the cleat is usually located about four feet from the ground) and hook the working eye on the whip line (the single wire rope on a crane that ends with a hook, used to move light loads that don't require the use of the crane's main hoist) of the crane.

Tell the crane operator raise the whip line and cinch to the top of the flag pole. Once the cinch is at the top of the flag pole, tell the crane operator to hold tension on the whip line.

Prepare the base of the flag pole for removal, depending on the type of flag pole. If the flag pole is hinged, it's unnecessary to cut the pole. Remove the locking pin from the hinge. For a multi-piece pole, remove the wedges at the first joint of the pole. If the flag pole is a single pole set in cement, use a reciprocating saw to cut the base of the flag pole 3/4 of the way through, as close to ground level as possible. The remaining quarter of the flag pole will act like a hinge, controlling the base of the pole.

Tell the crane operator to lower the top of the pole to the ground.