Utility Helicopter Crew Servicing Tension Wires in St. Charles Area This Week

By Carmelo Turdo

A flight and ground crew from HLH Aviation, a utility helicopter company operating out of Calhoun, GA, will be temporarily based at Creve Coeur Airport this week and next week to service tower powerlines in St. Charles and surrounding areas. The company's MD-500D (Hughes 369D series) is shown here being fitted with a work platform that extends from the left side just below the pilot's position prior to takeoff on Monday morning. The aircraft was then flown to an area along the Mississippi River west of St. Charles County Airport to install visibility marker balls on the towered lines. This and related work will continue in the coming days.

HLH Aviation operates a fleet of MD-500 helicopters for powerline maintenance and right-of-way vegetation management using saws attached to the center cargo hook. Larger Bell helicopters are also available for medium lift duty missions as well. A well-equipped ground support team accompanies flight operations when deployed outside of the home base.   

Here we view the setup and takeoff for Monday's first sortie.