Telecommunications Tower Helicopter Lifting in Queensland
Ridgetop sites, same-day. Antennas, hardware and small shelter components flown in about 20 minutes of flight time to summits where the access track is a four-hour drive or does not exist.
The problem
Why this lift is hard the conventional way
Telecommunications infrastructure is deliberately built on the highest, least accessible ground available. That is excellent for coverage and terrible for cranes.
- Summit access tracks are steep, narrow and often seasonal.
- Crane mobilisation to a ridgetop can take days and may be impossible.
- Site footprints are too small to stand a crane, which also needs a hard stand.
- Outage and coverage windows are measured in hours, not days.
How we do it
Aircraft, rigging, crew and duration
- Aircraft
- AS350, working maximum 800 kg on the hook
- Rigging method
- Long line with anti-rotation rigging for mast hardware
- Crew
- Pilot, loadmaster, two riggers, tower crew on structure
- Typical duration
- Half day for a typical antenna and hardware package, about 20 minutes flight time per load
- Site survey against summit coordinates, hover clearance and wind exposure.
- Lay-down established at the nearest road access or airstrip.
- Carrier and landowner approvals plus airspace notification lodged.
- Sequential lifts with tower crew receiving each section on structure.
Typical loads
What we lift, what it weighs, what it takes
| Item | Weight range | Aircraft | Typical time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antenna array | 60–280 kg | AS350 | 5 min |
| Mast hardware bundle | 300–700 kg | AS350 | 10 min |
| Shelter component (panelised) | 400–780 kg | AS350 | 12 min |
| Standby generator (compact) | 350–700 kg | AS350 | 10 min |
| Battery and fuel package | 300–650 kg | AS350 | 8 min |
Indicative only. Working payload reduces with radius, temperature and density altitude; every load is confirmed against the day's conditions.
Get your price range in a minute
Tell us the load and the site. You see an indicative range before we ask for your details. From $14,000 plus GST.
Request a liftRelated work
Lifts we have flown
700 kg
Summit shelter and genset, staged delivery
Track washed out at three creek crossings. Shelter panels and genset split into eight loads and flown in a single day.
Cairns & Far North · AS350
650 kg
Mast extension, coastal ridge
Four hardware bundles placed to tower crew inside a 3-hour coverage window, each cycle around 10 minutes.
Wide Bay · AS350
240 kg
Antenna refresh, five sites
Five ridgetop sites serviced from one lay-down in a single mobilisation.
Rockhampton · AS350
Site requirements
What you need ready on the day
- Carrier approval and confirmed coverage or outage window.
- Tower crew rescue-trained and briefed for helicopter-delivered loads.
- Cleared hover area and landing point at the summit.
- Road-accessible lay-down and refuelling point for the aircraft.
- Certified weights and rigging points for every section.
Cost factors
What moves the number
Site remoteness
Ferry time from base and lay-down distance drive the total.
Sites per mobilisation
Clustering several towers in one trip is the largest single saving.
Load class
Shelter and generator components are packaged into loads under 800 kg for the AS350.
Wind exposure
Exposed summits narrow the flyable window and may require standby.
Questions
Telecommunications tower lifting, frequently asked
Coverage
Where we fly this work
We provide telecommunications tower lifting across Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba & Darling Downs, Wide Bay, Rockhampton & Capricorn Coast, Mackay & Whitsundays, Townsville, Cairns & Far North Queensland, Mount Isa & North West Queensland, Moreton Bay & Islands and everywhere else in Queensland, mobilising from 18 min in Brisbane to 5.8 hours in the North West.
Related services
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