engine but the basic airframe remains the same, he said. It’s great for hovering and windy conditions.
Lynn Tilton, CEO for MD Helicopters, Inc. (MDHI), agrees that the MD 530F is built for utility work.
“The MD 530F is revered for its safe, reliable, and cost-effective operation in a broad range of utility missions,” Tilton said in a news release late last year announcing TVA’s third MD 530F.
TVA’s latest MD 530F is the first commercially delivered F-model with MDHI’s newest all-glass single-engine cockpit that includes: Howell Instruments’ electronic engine instruments and crew alert system (EICAS); Garmin G500[H] TXi electronic flight instruments (EFIS) with touch-screen GDU 700P PFD/MFD; and Garmin GTN 650 touch-screen NAV/
COM/GPS, the techie MDHI news release explained. Additional mission equipment includes the Fargo 21-gallon auxiliary fuel tank, Onboard Systems Talon LC Keeperless 3,600-pound cargo hook and Colorado Helicopters side hook bracket, high visibility main rotor blades, and wire- strike protection.
“We found that using helicopters with this new technology is cost-effective for TVA’s precision work,” said Kevin Featherston, TVA senior contract manager who oversees aviation fleet purchases.
“This type of flying really makes you use all your skill sets day in and day out,” Hammond added. “Every day is different and very challenging.”
Take, for example, one day when Hammond and a lineman flew out to investigate the cause of a power line failure. About 200
rotorcraftpro.com 49
feet from one tower, they spotted what appeared to be a stick hanging off an insulator. As they closed in, they realized it was a four-foot-long snake that had climbed about 80 feet up the tower and out one arm before it zapped the power line and proceeded to reptile heaven.
While that was quite an unusual wildlife encounter, another kind is quite common: bird poo. Buzzard droppings are so common on insulators that TVA has invested in a pressure spray wash system so linemen can wash off the avian excrement without having to turn off electricity and climb onto the towers, Featherston related.
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