The more than 18 years of experience of Ecocopter in the aeronautical industry, a company that has the largest and most modern fleet of helicopters in the southern cone, joins the trajectory of bbosch, a company with more than 60 years of excellence in the metal-mechanical industry and electrical infrastructure and development, in order to premiere in the region, the service of aerial washing of insulators by helicopter. 

The development of this new system in Chile has been carried out for some years in Europe, Africa and North America, and has the highest electrical and aeronautical safety standards in the market, making the washing work more efficient in time and resources. The Ecocopter-bbosch alliance seeks to positively impact the country’s electrical maintenance market with insulation washing that improves the sustainability and reliability of power systems. 

Helicopter insulation washing allows access to high and medium voltage power transmission lines in all types of geographical areas, faster washing and the use of a smaller amount of water. Regarding the washing procedure, once the system is installed in the helicopter and the transfer to the work area is completed, the system tank is filled with demineralized water, and then the helicopter takes off and flies to the line according to plan. 

Once at the site, the aircraft is positioned on one side of the tower and the chains are washed from a turret that expels the pressurized water, all controlled by an operator located on one side of the helicopter. In this way, the dirt and residues generated by pollution, salinity and the passage of time in these conditions, which occur mainly in the northern part of the country, are removed. The characteristics of this advanced washing system make it possible to work quickly and efficiently, since approximately 30 to 90 seconds are used for each chain washed (depending on the size). In addition, given the characteristics of the equipment, significant savings in water consumption are expected consumption, since, compared to traditional land-based methods, the helicopter washing system uses between 60% and 85% less demineralized water, confirming the helicopter washing system thus ratifying the environmental commitment that both companies have today. With the above, it is estimated that with this system, it is estimated that the insulation chain washing work will be up to 500% more efficient compared to the traditional land-based method.

The purpose of this work is to maintain the insulation chains in an optimum state of cleanliness, in order to avoid possible line outages that could affect the public. The National Electric System (SEN) includes electric generation, transmission and distribution facilities, which extends from the regions of Arica Parinacota to the Los Lagos region. This system is the largest at the national level, since it has 35,501 km of transmission lines in 3,100 km of territory, providing electric energy to a large part of the country. 

An electrical system of this magnitude requires a robust maintenance protocol in all its phases and areas “For us it is a great milestone to incorporate this technology in Chile. We acquired an internationally certified and exclusive washing system to be installed in any helicopter of our AS350 fleet, in addition to training our crews with experts from Europe. With this, we aim to have a world-class technical and human capacity, in order to carry out a work of excellence in terms of productivity, efficiency and prevention of occupational hazards, responding to the needs of our customers safely and in the expected time“, says José Tomás Díaz, Business Development at Ecocopter.

“The alliance with Ecocopter comes to reinforce our vision of innovation and exploration of new businesses in order to be more competent with our customers. We are specialists in the industry and we incorporate in our processes solutions that integrate quality, compliance and innovation to respond in a sustainable way to the needs of a connected, competitive and dynamic world. We will wash high-voltage line insulators with the highest electrical and aeronautical safety standards in the market,” says Pablo Bosch Kreis, bbosch’s Planning, Development and New Business Manager. 

With respect to safety in this type of aeronautical activity, Ecocopter has International BARS Certification (International Operational Safety), FDM System (System helicopter flight monitoring system), operational safety management system (SMS), in addition to an intensive semiannual training program for its aircrews.