During the week of June 19th to 26th, GB Helicopters’ entire twin-engine fleet was in high demand. Two of the years’ events, popular for private helicopter charters happened simultaneously, Royal Ascot and Glastonbury.

Our helicopters were busy flying clients from various locations across the country to the events. Our pilots transported the elegantly dressed racegoers to Ascot. And music enthusiasts to the Glastonbury festival in one of our finest aircraft.

Aerial Utility Works  – Traffic Management

GB Helicopters was ahead of the game at Glastonbury 2023. Our team arrived in Somerset on Monday 19^th June, two days before the festival gates opened. We’ve been working with the festival organisers for ten years. Providing them with expert aerial traffic management solutions and we were excited to continue with this partnership.

On the first day of action, we focused on rigging our AS355 – G-GBTV, complemented by our SWE 4 in 1 camera system. The system was a game-changer. Providing the traffic control room with a live download link of aerial shots that displayed congestion in the surrounding areas. This allowed the ground to identify traffic hotspots and implement diversions to maintain a steady flow of traffic.

Our live footage was a success, providing an aerial perspective of the roads and the festival itself.

Aerial Filming with the Red Arrows

The most exciting role GB Helicopters took on for Glastonbury 2023, was liaising with the RAF Red Arrows. Our operations team, camera operations and pilot communicated with the festival organisers and with the RED Arrow pilots themselves. On Saturday 24^th June the RAF Red Arrows treated the crowds of Glastonbury to a surprise flyby.

GB Helicopters had the go-ahead to conduct the aerial filming as the world-famous Red Arrows flew over Glastonbury, impressing the crowds and on-stage acts. 

Helicopters flying over the festival aren’t unusual to hear or see. So when G-GBTV was airborne over the festival, it didn’t alert the crowds about what was to come.

GB Helicopters remain committed to providing exceptional aerial services at Glastonbury. We can’t wait to see what the future holds providing aerial filming and utility services at Glastonbury.

Contact our expert operations team for a bespoke helicopter charter, aerial filming or aerial utility quotation, complete the form below or email us at ops@gbhelicopters.com.

Helicopter Hire Enquiry

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Our Flight Operations Compliance Manager, Abi Hensby, works incredibly hard every year to ensure that we operate at the highest standards possible for our industry and we are very proud of our exemplary record.

These practices and procedures are constantly evaluated and amended as the industry evolves. They are in place not only to help protect the helicopter pilot, crew and passengers, but also to guarantee we deliver the most comprehensive service that is of the utmost quality.

Going Further

Our efforts to improve our services do not stop here. We have worked hard to attain three ISO standards set out by the International Organisation for Standardisation. These include:

• ISO 9001:2015 – for Quality Management Systems
• ISO 14001:2015 – for Environmental Management Systems
• BS OHSAS 18001: 2007 – the British standard for occupational health and safety management

These standards are not necessary to carry out the wide variety of work we provide. However, they are something we have endeavoured to achieve to assist us in delivering a world-class service. These standards contribute from the well-being of the office staff and ground crew to the pilots and aircraft. And this applies across our three sectors of work: helicopter charter, aerial filming and utility works.

Following these advancements, 2021 will see us implement a Carbon Neutral policy to help offset our impact on the environment. This is an important issue that will affect every aspect of our lives. It is vital that we do more to measure the effect we have on the environment. More information on this will follow later in the year.

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As part of ongoing efforts to reduce coastal erosion and prevent landslides, Central Alliance came to us to help them survey the Moors’ coastline. They had been tasked with finding out how aggressively the cliffs were being eroded. The data collected would aid in the assessment of whether stabilisation of the cliffs would be required.

To carry out this assessment quickly and accurately, the use of LiDAR was to be deployed using our AS355 helicopter. Standing for Light Detection and Ranging, the process involves continuously firing a laser at the ground and measuring the returns. These returns allow the recording of a variety of things like ground profiles, building details and different analysis for vegetation such as tree height and leaf mass, among many others. In this case, the LiDAR was used to generate a ground profile of the North York Moors coastline.

New Technology

The level of detail required for this assessment could only be achieved with the use of a helicopter. While other options are available, such as fixed wing and UAV platforms, helicopters remain the only vehicle capable of carrying the equipment required to record at the highest levels of detail. A helicopter also allows low altitude flights that provides even greater detail to be recorded.

Traditionally the large LiDAR unit is mounted on the belly of the helicopter. However, Central Alliance brought with them their new, custom built LiDAR pod. This much smaller unit could be mounted on the nose of our helicopter, using the same arm we use for our camera systems. Despite its size, it still contained the LiDAR sensor, an Inertial Measurement System (IMS) and a PhaseOne camera. Being nose mountable also made it much quicker and easier to install.

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Electricity North West invested in this scheme, which, will allow us to inspect 1,169 miles of pylons and power lines to identify any necessary work before it impacts power supplies to their customers.

“Our vast overhead network which includes 1,169 miles of pylon power lines is often located in rural areas and is impacted by severe weather with wind and rain so this method of checking from the air is a great way of keeping the network in good condition.” Ian Fenton from Electricity North West

Why are power line inspections conducted by air?

Power line inspections via helicopter are a preferred method as the team can swiftly observe each asset on a tower quickly and from a safe working distance. This not only reduces the risks associated with traditional methods via foot patrol but also provides fast reactions to any major faults or anomalies found.

In turn this helps reduce the impact to homes, offices and buildings in those areas, complaints and costs associated. Helicopters are also far safer as the equipment allows lines and towers to be assessed from a safe distance.

In this case the inspections will be carried out by our twin-engine AS355s fitted with our SWE Quad Sensor.

In total it is expected we will survey around 4,000 towers for Electricity North West over the course of the year.

How are surveys conducted?

Our company uses a combination of equipment, this includes a state of the art aerial camera system and bespoke software.

The camera system contains four sensors which can be monitored and controlled from within the aircraft. This includes High Definition Video, still photography, UV corona and Thermal imaging.

Crew onboard can quickly spot anomalies through these four sensors and well as input data directly into our bespoke software. Images of the infrastructural assets along the power lines, towers and substations are taken to document findings by our aerial linesmen.

Once grounded the linesmen will check the images against the annotations from our software and formulate the results for ENW staff, ranking any faults on an agreed system scale.

Why do you conduct the surveys in this way?

Safety is our primary objective when completing these tasks, which is why we have invested in the best equipment to date. Hosting an array of high specification equipment that is unparalleled within the UK and teamed with our young, robust helicopter fleet, we can support projects with superior performance on task.

If you require any more information on our power line surveys or any of the other utility works contact our ops team on 0800 030 4105 or ops@gbhelicopters.com

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Helicopters are usually associated with a luxury lifestyle, full of high net-worth individuals and celebrities alike and for us in the industry, to be part of a glamorous business network. But sometimes it’s not always the case, sometimes, we do get the sh*t work… literally!

We operate various flights from luxury charter, aerial filming to utility based projects and with specialist experience in load lifting our services were recommended to Kevin, waste water production manager at United Utilities who contacted our operations manager, to see if we were able to help with an urgent task.

The company needed to move a 580kg broken sewage pump but the road to the Waste Water Treatment Works runs along side the Manchester Ship Canal and had partly collapsed and under repair. Meaning it was unsafe and unviable for vehicles to travel down, especially the heavy Hiab truck that would usually be deployed on such a task.

The broken sewage pump meant a build up of waste water was not being treated or flowing freely through the treatment works based in Davyhulme. The works is one of the biggest waste water treatment works in the UK. Draining the entire western side of Manchester and with more than 30,000 litres of flowing water usually treated per second. Therefore urgent action needed to be taken to keep the site functioning to standard practice and to appease the Environment Agency. The only remaining option was to see if they could replace the parts by bringing them in by air.

After a brief conversation a meeting was organised with Kevin and his team. Together the task was discussed in more detail, including assessing the sites and surrounding areas that could be used to fly in and out of for safety before the ops team took the information away to finalise safety reports.

One of our pilots James Holland, was assigned to the project. James has a military background and has been assigned to various load lifting contracts. Final calculations of the load, safety and brief were conducted and the flight was scheduled.

The pump and mechanism were broken into two separate parts so we conducted two shuttles to lift the broken infrastructure out of the site and one load to take the new temporary replacement in. James also lifted a skip to help with the waste build up.

The afternoon on task went seamlessly and both parties were happy as pigs in sh*t. Except for Andy and Abi who got the sh*t end of the stick and had to stand beneath the hovering aircraft to hook the loads onto the carouse. All jokes aside, the team thoroughly enjoyed the unusual task and the whole waste water service team from United Utilities were a pleasure to work with.

Take a look at our aerial utility services or contact the operations team at ops@gbhelicopters.com or call 0800 030 4105.

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While the Peak District provides a wonderful destination for walkers, climbers, and mountain bikers, it also plays an important role for the environment and climate. Large parts of the national park are covered in peat, which is now known to be a huge store of Carbon. Should the peat degrade, this Carbon would be released into the atmosphere, contributing to global warming. It is also home to vast array of wildlife and provides a variety of ecosystems for them to thrive in.

It is important that these national parks remain accessible for the public to enjoy, whilst also being protected and restored. For the last 18 years, this crucial work has been carried out by Moors for the Future. They promote the park for public and recreational use while also maintaining and restoring the moorlands. They also work to help enhance habitats, improve water quality, reduce wildfire and flood risk, and tackle climate change.

A part of their conservation work involves stabilising and revegetating bare peat. Exposed at the surface and with nothing to hold it in place, bare peat is very susceptible to erosion from the weather, walkers, and animals. It also plays a key role in flood management. One way to help this is to plant heather. Heather brash, which consists mainly of heather cuttings, is used to cover the bare peat across the Peak District. Once it takes root it holds the peat in place.

Covering 1,440 km² and with bare peat spread throughout, the only way to deliver the heather brash to where it is needed is by helicopter. Earlier this year, we were awarded this role by Moors for the Future. We were tasked with load-lifting 1,000 dumpy bags of heather brash to the Kinder Plateau.

Speed is Key

There are several advantages to using helicopters for this role. Firstly, and most critically, moving the brash into the remote moorlands by ground vehicle would cause significant damage to the very land that they are intending to restore. Lifting the brash by helicopter is also significantly quicker. Our load-lifting six-hook carousel fitted to one of our AS355s, allows us to carry up to six bags at once. With a remote release function operated by the pilot, we can quickly drop a bag at six GPS tagged sites in a single trip.

Kinder Scout is the highest peak in the national park, standing at 2,086 ft. As thousands of bags of brash must be lifted and placed over a massive area, and that it all must take place in the winter months, speed is crucial. The quicker the bags can be placed, the quicker the spreading of the brash can be done.

It is a common site to see a helicopter flying over the Peak District in winter, so now if you see one with a few bags underneath, you have a good idea of what it’s up to.

For more of our Aerial Utility Sevices take a look at our Urgent Freight Charters.

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One of those company’s is Scottish Power Energy Networks (SPEN). They own and maintain all the overhead lines in Central and Southern Scotland along with those in North Wales, Merseyside, Cheshire and North Shropshire. These networks are referred to as SPEN and MANWEB respectively.

Our four-year contract with SPEN will have us surveying approximately 7,000 towers annually in Central and Southern Scotland and 3,000 towers for MANWEB. This means conducting statutory and thermal power line surveys across their entire network. To accomplish this, we will deploy our twin-engine AS355 that will be fitted with our gyro stabilised 4-in-1 sensor, the SWE-400 Quad. This state-of-the-art system allows us to record High Resolution Radiometric Infrared, Corona Detection, HD Video and Digital Still photography in a single flight. Inside the cabin, the operator has access to the OV171X-HDSDI quad monitor, allowing them to view all four sensors at the same time.

Storm Patrol

This contract also means we will be on standby to perform Storm Damage Patrols during the winter months. For this, we are available 24-hours a day, 7-days a week and can be airborne within an agreed launch window to investigate a reported fault. This readiness is vital to ensure the quick identification of a fault which in turn leads to them being repaired quickly.

As with all the flying we do, we take special consideration to the public as well as businesses when flying at low level. As the majority of overhead lines traverse farmland and fields, disturbing livestock such as cattle and horses can be costly to farmers. Our trained pilots and observers take extra care to minimise any disturbance caused by a low flying helicopter. This consideration also applies in rural aeras and where possible we liaise with landowners to conduct the surveys at agreed times. This helps reduce any unwanted noise from disturbing any special events that may be taking place. Any inspection that is unable to take place from the air is noted and a survey is conducted from the ground.

Alongside our Part SPO authorisations that allow us to conduct aerial utility work, we have our Air Operator Certificate (AOC). This grants us permission to provide our charter services and has already been utilised for SPEN CEOs to be given a tour of their network and to provide the BBC access to cover the work done by Scottish Power.

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