TVA Helicopter Pilot Adam Hammond performs a high recon of the LZ prior to landing.
People outside the industry sometimes envision these pilots and linemen as a bit loony, and for good reason. The Tyler benches attached to the outside of helicopters commonly touch 500,000-volt electricity lines while linemen transfer themselves from the benches onto towers that stand as high as 300 feet in the air. While the lines are de-energized, their proximity to the helictopters and their spinning rotor blades is hair-raising to the uninitiated.
Ask TVA Helicopter Operations Manager Adam Hammond whether the pilot or lineman is loonier, and he’ll quickly point to the other guy.
“Definitely the lineman,” Hammond said. “They’re out there operating in all kinds of weather to get the power back on.” When rain grounds the helicopters, the linemen have to climb the towers instead.
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In all seriousness, though, Hammond explained that TVA helicopter pilots and their linemen must not be risk takers, because of the inherent risks of working on giant electricity towers.
“If you’re a cowboy, this is not the place for you,” Hammond emphasized. “Precision long-line and power-line operations, in my opinion, is the most precise flying you’ll do as a helicopter pilot.”
Hammond clearly enjoys his job and enjoys working for this unique government agency, which was created to bring economic development to the Tennessee Valley as part of the Depression-era New Deal. Helicopter operations have been part of the TVA from the beginning.
“I think that it’s the type of work being completed, and the ability to work with linemen who take a lot of pride in their
work,” Hammond explained about his affinity for his job. “Also knowing that the type of flying I do helps provide power to millions of people.”
The TVA fleet’s three new MD 530F helicopters help TVA work safely, he added. Hammond noted features such as the MDHI F-model’s glass cockpit that expands his field of vision, its synthetic vision system, and its digital instrumentation that makes the aircraft lighter so it can carry more equipment or produce more power when needed. A team of TVA flight members just attended the HAI Heli-Expo to display one of their new MD 530Fs at the MD Helicopters booth.
“It seems like (the MD 500 series) was just built for this kind of work,” Hammond said. “It makes everything very stable.” Originally a light scout and attack helicopter in the Vietnam War, it now features a larger
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