Using Air2’s airborne helicopter services to perform power line maintenance offers many advantages over ground-based methods.
Aerial access to structures allows for rapid completion of work with far less impact on right-of-way (ROW) and environmentally sensitive areas.
Air2 aerial crews access the work via helicopter skid-level platform or via long-line suspension. Services identified below can be performed with the circuits energized or de-energized.
| Service | Energized Circuits | De-energized Circuits |
|---|---|---|
| Aerial number, warning sign and other marker installation or replacement | ||
| Anti-galloping device installation | ||
| Bird-discouraging device installation (all types) | ||
| Conductor repairs, including: full-tension compression splice and sleeve repair or replacement; armor rod repair; wire cut-ins; and damper replacement or installation | ||
| Conductor spacer replacement at existing or new, measured locations | ||
| Cross-arm replacement (various configurations) | ||
| Davit arm replacement | ||
| H-frame knee brace and v-brace replacement | ||
| Insulator replacement | ||
| Insulator washing | ||
| Lightning arrester installation | ||
| Marker ball (warning sphere) installation or replacement | ||
| Resistance (ohms) testing | ||
| Shield wire repairs, including: full-tension compression splice and sleeve repair or replacement; armor rod repair; wire cut-ins; and damper installation or replacement | ||
| Shield wire connection repairs, including: bonding; de-insulating; and hardware replacement (all types) | ||
| Specialized insulator inspection | ||
| Surge arrester installation | ||
| Suspension hardware replacement, including conductor, shield wire and optical ground wire (OPGW) |
KCP&L 345kV Arms Replacement
KCP&L had a significant number of 345kV lines with wooden arms that were approaching the end of their life.
Due to the cost and difficulty of taking lines out of service for arm replacement, Air2 worked with KCP&L and Hughes Manufacturing to design a new steel arm. The arm was engineered in sections that could be long-lined into place using the MD 500 helicopter. Air2 developed safe work procedures to install the new arms while the lines remained energized. This solved a significant problem for KCP&L and saved time and money.
Entergy 161kV Arms Replacement
Entergy needed to replace many of the 161kV cross-arms within its Arkansas transmission grid but did not want to undergo the continuous outages necessary for de-energized replacement.
In response, Air2 developed solutions and techniques for a safe work practice to replace the 161kV cross-arms while the lines were energized. The successful methods and procedures resulting from this work have been standardized and added to the many services Air2 offers its customers.
