The Aerialscope is a line of telescoping elevated platforms, introduced in the mid-1960s, later bought and sold by Baker Equipment Engineering Company. The Aerialscope has been a favorite of the FDNY, which has operated hundreds of tower ladders since 1964. FDNY Aerialscopes were initially delivered on Mack C chassis, and later the CF600. Hamerly Custom Productions of Shartlesville, PA was hired to paint some early CF600 Aerialscopes during the 1970’s. After production of the CF600 ceased in 1990, FWD (Seagrave parent/sister company), Simon-Duplex, Spartan, and later Seagrave chassis were used. Aerialscopes were also delivered to other departments in the United States and Canada, and ex-FDNY tower ladders have been used by smaller departments.
Seagrave Corporation purchased the Aerialscope product from Baker in 1999 and moved production to Wisconsin. Today, Seagrave continues to build the Aerialscope II; usually offered in tandem-rear axle configurations, but a few single-rear axle variants have also been made (the majority of which have been remounted from older trucks). The Aerialscope is distinct in both construction and appearance, as it is an enclosed boom, rather than an conventional U-shaped, open ladder. Whereas other tower ladders & platforms have access to the bucket from the bucket itself, or via climbing the ladder; the Aerialscope bucket can only be accessed from the bucket, with the ladder mounted on the boom reserved for egress in emergency situations.
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