VALARD CONSTRUCTION PHOTO
An Airbus H225
Super Puma begins to lift a steel-lattice tower from a staging
area along the Watay Project right-of-way.
Precision placement of a load with a utility helicopter is
a practice reportedly started by Wes Lematta of Columbia Helicopters in the late 1950s. Flying on a power-line project in Oregon’s Columbia River Gorge, Lematta used the left-seat controls on a training helicopter so he could see the load he was placing. Termed direct visual operational control (DVOC), or “flying the load,” placing the lead pilot in the left seat remains common in utility work today, although it depends on the load, the model of aircraft, and sometimes pilot preference. Lematta and his younger brother Jim also claimed credit
for developing the large plastic bubble windows that allow utility pilots to watch the load in inclement weather; Jim had nearly become hypothermic looking out an open window during a tower-setting project in Leadville, Colorado, in the 1960s. Carrying a load isn’t for every pilot. “I think one of the
hardest things to learn about precision placement and external-load work in general is the mental side of it,” says Andre Hutchings, an experienced utility pilot. After devel- oping his skills with Columbia Helicopters for 26 years, Hutchings and his wife, Kimberly, opened Volo Mission, an external-load, longline, and aerial firefighting training com- pany just northeast of Dallas, Texas. “To remain calm, breathe, possess a lot of patience, and stay out of your own head while setting max gross loads with
30 ROTOR SEPTEMBER 2022
your crew being hands-on—there’s a lot of pressure,” says Hutchings. “Having a calm, relaxed demeanor not only helps you, the pilot, but keeps your crew calm as well. Often, this is easier said than done.” Columbia’s crews typically use 200-ft. lines (plus rigging)
for external loads, meaning the pilot has a unique perspective on the load and the placement site. “It’s a long way down, and it looks and feels like it when you are setting a precision load with that length of line,” Hutchings says. “Te longer the line, the more difficult it is to see the visual cues and subtle signs from your ground crew or line person or the environment that you can pick up when using a shorter line.” He explains that when working with a 200-ft. line, there’s
a slight delay from the controls to the load. “You have to exercise patience and wait for the reaction to your input. You really have to trust your crew and their instructions, because from that height, it’s going to be them that’s talking you down and instructing you to ‘hold’ or ‘come down 6 inches,’ etc.” Longline work is a team effort, says Hutchings. “Always
look after and out for your ground crew; they are typically in a precarious position, working under you. You need to look out for them, point out any hazards they may not be aware of, and keep them safe,” he says. “Teirs is a high- pressure job as well. Tese guys and gals can make a pilot look good on a tough job!”
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