Re: India's Power Sector
Posted: 15 Jan 2016 08:16
xpost from the New Zealand thread on the Strategic Forum:
http://gisborneherald.co.nz/localnews/2 ... r-heliwing
http://gisborneherald.co.nz/localnews/2 ... r-heliwing
A FORMER Gisborne father and son aviation team will take specialist techniques perfected on the East Coast to help keep India’s national electricity grid running smoothly.
Their helicopter company has been awarded a new lines maintenance contract on the sub-continent.
Ohope-based company Heliwing announced it has secured a contract with PowerGrid India for live-line electrical maintenance by helicopter.
Managing director and former East Coast rescue and air ambulance pilot Denis Hartley said he was delighted Heliwing’s expertise had been recognised against some very strong global competition.
“It is a real coup for New Zealand aviation and I am very pleased to have my son Wayne (from Gisborne) and New Zealand pilot Geoff Keighley as part of our team to undertake the work.
“As the helicopters need sometimes to precision-hover less than a metre from 750,000 live volts, I can only use highly experienced pilots”.
Mr Hartley is well well-known in the New Zealand aviation industry, having been a top-dressing pilot in Hawke’s Bay as well as a helicopter pilot in Poverty Bay and the Eastern Bay of Plenty. He was also a pioneering East Coast rescue and air ambulance pilot.
Mr Hartley said the new contract would involve employing a human-sling line technique to maintain power lines from a helicopter, a technique he first used in 1980 when he was based at Ruatoria, working for Gisborne lines company Eastland Network.
He expects to start work maintaining 3000km of power lines in about three months.