Lykens to Gratz Tap, Near Dauphin County, Pennsylvania
Overhead Transmission Line Documentation
Construction Video and Photography Documentation
September 2020
ALL PRO USA traveled to Lykens and Wiconisco, near Harrisburg and Dauphin County Pennsylvania to complete this project. The project was a overhead transmission line that needed documentation before the contractor started replacing the towers. This is the second part of the Williamstown to Lykens Transmission Line that ALL PRO USA had shot for Pioneer Electric. This project was documented for the contractor in three different ways. The first two went hand in hand, the team took turns walking the line to document the towers from the ground. They did this utilizing handheld video and still photography. The handheld still photography was shot using a Canon 5D Mark IV. The third form of documentation was aerial videography. Utilizing a DJI Mavic 2 Pro the team documented the towers from the air for the entire length of the line. Throughout the project all members of the team wore high visibility vests as well as hats to ensure the safety of the team.
Construction Video
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As stated above the ground level documentation was completed using two cameras. This allowed the team to split the documentation in half. One member of the team focused on the video documentation using the Nikon Z6 and the gimbal, while the other focused on the still photography with the Canon 5D Mark IV. The documentation from the ground was completed by walking the line from start to finish. The team documented the transmission line by walking the entire line that was going to be replaced. The project started at a substation near the Wiconisco Fire Company and headed into the woods through some state game lands and ended at the Gratz Tap where the line being documented joined two other transmission lines. ALL PRO USA was familiar with this area because we had documented a transmission line from the Elizabethville Substation for PAR Electric earlier in the year. This portion of the project provided a unique challenge for the team. This was the terrain that the transmission line went across. Compared to the first section of the job it was much more mountainous and rugged. Careful planning helped the team keep their energy up and ensure timely completion of the job.
Once we completed the ground level documentation from start to finish we revisited parts of the line to supplement the documentation that we already captured with video and photos from our drone. We utilized our DJI Mavic Pro 2 drone to capture areas that were either inaccessible from the ground or would benefit from a different angle for the documentation. The team had our two FAA certified drone pilots with them to ensure safe flights and proper documentation of the Transmission Lines. The drone team for this job consisted of two roles the Remote Pilot in Command and a Visual Observer. A challenge that this job presented was the terrain that the transmission lines crossed made it difficult for the Visual Observer and the Remote Pilot in Command to be right next to each other during the flight. To solve this we used radio communication to ensure that the RPIC and the VO were in constant communication when they could not be side by side. This allowed for safe operation of the drone and for the capture of some high quality and unique angles of the transmission line.
Once we completed the ground level documentation from start to finish we revisited parts of the line to supplement the documentation that we already captured with video and photos from our drone. We utilized our DJI Mavic Pro 2 drone to capture areas that were either inaccessible from the ground or would benefit from a different angle for the documentation. The team had our two FAA certified drone pilots with them to ensure safe flights and proper documentation of the Transmission Lines. The drone team for this job consisted of two roles the Remote Pilot in Command and a Visual Observer. A challenge that this job presented was the terrain that the transmission lines crossed made it difficult for the Visual Observer and the Remote Pilot in Command to be right next to each other during the flight. To solve this we used radio communication to ensure that the RPIC and the VO were in constant communication when they could not be side by side. This allowed for safe operation of the drone and for the capture of some high quality and unique angles of the transmission line.
The last part of this project that needed documentation was some of the access roads that the contractor would be using to access the line for the completion of the job. These were documented in two ways, when they were not accessible by vehicle the team walked the access areas to ensure that they were properly documented. The equipment used for this were the Nikon Z6 on the gimbal and the Canon 5D Mark IV. When they were accessible by the vehicle we used a video camera mounted to our RAM 1500 truck to document the access routes. This was set up in a safe manner so that one member of the team could focus on safe operation of the vehicle, while the other team member focused on the operation of the camera. When we utilize the truck mounted camera the controls for pan, tilt, zoom and a record button are accessible inside the cab of the truck. In addition to this there is a monitor so that we can make sure that we get the shot that we need. Once the documentation was completed the team returned back to Pittsburgh to edit the project. The team provided the contractor with digital and physical media for them to view. The Video was uploaded to Vimeo and the photos were uploaded to Smug Mug. In addition to this we provided the contractor with two USB hard drives so that contractor has physical copies of the project on hand as well.
