“WHEN THEY SAY ALASKA WEATHER CHANGES FAST, IT’S NO JOKE; IT CHANGES QUICK,” WALKER SAID.
Getting the Work Done
Winco performs its work all over the contiguous United States and Alaska. Crews work three-week-on and three-week-off schedules and travel to ongoing projects. Any work related to new power-line construction or rebuilding lines is the bread- and-butter of Winco. Line pulling, installing insulators and bird diverters, as well as placing marker balls are all specialized tasks that suit the company’s experience. In 2024, Winco averaged over 800 hours per helicopter and pulled over 5,500 miles of sock lines.
Winco’s ability to perform and complete large and challenging projects is well-known in the industry, and in 2024 the company worked on projects from California to Maine and many places in between. Currently, Winco has four aircraft supporting the largest renewable energy project in the history of the United States, installing infrastructure from Albuquerque, New Mexico, all the way down to Tucson, Arizona.
Another monumental task was that of constructing a
transmission line going from Rawlins, Wyoming, down to Salt Lake City, Utah, through very challenging and inhospitable terrain. Phase two of that project was to install more than 1,000 lighted marker balls on the lines. This project was the first time the crews were able to utilize a new technology, developed by one of Quanta’s subsidiary companies, in the
form of voice-guided GPS to make the task of placing marker balls more efficient. Running on an Android OS, crews use an app that shows the exact location of the aircraft relative to the power lines and the exact location where the marker balls are to be placed on the line. As the pilot navigates down the line, the voice-guided GPS generates audible commands: “30 feet ahead on line. 20 feet ahead on line. 10 feet ahead on line. One foot ahead on line. Place. Place. Place.” This new technology replaces a manually installed measuring wheel, which is placed on the static line and pulled down the line.
Another challenging project was to fly an aircraft up to Kodiak Island, Alaska. The task was to perform some inspection work as well as to replace old marker balls with new ones. Flying up to Alaska and performing the work went off without a hitch. However, while returning back to the Lower 48, the weather conditions deteriorated and Walker had to put the aircraft down on a beach near Yakutat, Alaska. “When they say Alaska weather changes fast, it’s no joke; it changes quick,” he said. Due to IMC conditions, Walker and his teammate had to spend the night on the beach with the helicopter. Thankfully, the aircraft was equipped with survival gear and a weapon for bears. With no cell or radio coverage in this area, the only way they were able to communicate with their company to let them know they were OK was via Spidertxt through the onboard Spidertracks aircraft tracking system.
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