Since this past Monday, the New York Power Authority (NYPA) has been using helicopters to handle power transmission line improvement work. The project covers power lines stretching across 50 miles of landscape in and around the towns of Cicero, Clay, Bridgeport, Chittenango, Canastota, Verona, Durhamville, Rome, Westmoreland, Whitestown, and Marcy.
This aerial installation assignment is part of the NYPA’S Communications Backbone Initiative. This is a $177 million project that’s partly aimed at installing fiber optic cables throughout the region.
The NYPA is also working with other companies to handle the installation work. Primary among these are Michels Power and its aviation services subcontractor Air2 Aviation, which is providing the necessary chopper support.
Work has been ongoing daily starting at 7 am and finishing up at 7 pm each day. The public is being asked to stay as far away as possible from the work-in-progress, helicopters and other support equipment being used on the project.
Installation jobs such as these, involving helicopter assistance, are usually handled with extreme safety and professionalism but the chances of an accident never disappear entirely. This can become a particular danger if members of the general public aren’t kept out of the work areas in question. With that in mind, the project will probably continue until an expected completion date of November 15th.
Power transmission line work using helicopters is commonly done throughout the United States and internationally. In some cases, powerful heavy-lift helicopters have even been used to carry and place entire power poles into positions where ground crew can then attach the posts to their bases.
In addition to their versatility for an enormous range of survey, remote transport, surveillance, passenger delivery, and rescue evacuation missions, choppers are a useful choice for many industrial and utility assignments. Helicopter transmission line work handles the logistics of rapidly covering long stretches of territory while working on highly elevated structures more effectively than almost any ground vehicle could.
Charter helicopter services providers like Fair Lifts offer a professionally piloted, modern fleet of choppers for their clients for all of the above and other tasks as needed for year-round availability.
Photo Credit: Getty