Back in October I spent a couple of hours flying with some guys that do right of way surveys. They are the group that inspects right of ways for danger trees, then call in for tree trimmers to clear the "at risk tree".
Not only do they look for trees that might fall into the lines, but they inspect the hardware and poles that make up a particular circuit.
Pucker factor - unmeasurable due to death grip on "Oh Sh*t" bar.......
Thrill Factor - probably the GREATEST flight Ive ever had in a helicopter.
It was truly amazing to listen in as the pilot/survey crew carried on conversations about what they were seeing. Pilot asked how many octaves I could reach, I promised him a choral spectacular at any moment during the flight.
Hovering near a substation I noticed the trees in the immediate area, THEY WERE ABOVE US!!!!
You know that show that used to be on where they would show guys working transmission lines from a helicopter? Well, I didn't work on the lines, but the horizontal separation from the equipment was comparable.
Most folks don't realize the amount of work that power companies accomplish with helicopters.
