One of the primary maintenance services we offer utility companies is patrolling their power lines to find potential problems so repairs can be made before problems, or even failures, occur. Specialized gyro-stabilized cameras search for high temperatures and corona discharge indicating corrosion and breaks in conductors and insulators.

LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) works like radar, only using laser light instead of radio waves. LiDAR scans powerlines to accurately measure their height above ground, distance from vegetation and other critical measurements which when combined with orthomosaic high-definition photography give the utility company an detailed report on the status of their transmission lines and rights-of-way.

Remote sensing displays

Class B operation swapping an insulator string of an energized circuit

Once our crew removes the defective insulator string, the helo takes it to the ground and brings back a new one to reinstall. This is especially important work in seasons when the ground is too soft to work with a bucket truck.

Our crews showing their hot line skills

One of the crucial repairs is replacing faulty insulators on a live line. Everything must be performed to SOP (Standard Operating Procedure). Randy, our trainer and Patricia Koppenhaver Safety & Compliance Officer insure the work is efficient, correct and safe.

Buckle up all the safety lines and bonds for transfer

In November our flight crews and linemen trained and were certified for energized line repairs including insulator replacement and tower transfers. Exciting stuff!