Bird protection by helicopter

The helicopter service provider Rotorflug, headquartered in Friedrichsdorf near Frankfurt, has been in action with its helicopters in recent days to improve protection for birds on a power line between Bad Bederkesa and Alfstedt in Lower Saxony. For this purpose, a total of almost 400 so-called bird protection armatures have been installed on the nine-kilometre-long section. The armatures ensure that birds in flight do not collide with the power lines and possibly die - an important contribution to nature conservation.

"For me as a pilot, the installation of the bird protection is demanding because I have to fly with the helicopter to within a few centimetres of the power line so that the installer can attach the armatures from the helicopter," explains rotor flight pilot Robin Holighaus.

Since the flight demands the highest concentration from the entire crew and requires enormous resources, a flight only lasts just under an hour. Moreover, in addition to some talent, flying practice as well as good training are mandatory prerequisites for this line of work, says Holighaus: "No two flights are the same, local conditions change constantly, weather conditions vary and the crew is subject to human factors that can affect their daily performance.

The work on the power line in the district of Cuxhaven was reported on in the Niederelbe Zeitung, among others.

Rotorflug, which specialises in work flights, forms a helicopter company together with Heli Transair with locations in Egelsbach, Friedrichsdorf, Kiel, Koblenz, Mauern and Münster-Osnabrück. The portfolio consists of work, passenger and cargo flights as well as its own flight school. The latter trains private and professional pilots and also offers IFR and MCC training in its own simulator (FNPT-II) as well as aircraft type licences.