More Projects, Faster Payback: Success Case of Heligràfics
More projects, faster payback
Seasonal operators often can’t justify a second aircraft just to fill winter downtime – Heligràfics found a way to make one investment work across both rotary and fixed-wing platforms.
Customer Snapshot
Who: Heligràfics
Challenge: Limited flight season (~1,000h, April–November) leaving assets underused in winter; ~1.5-year payback estimate
Solution: HELIUX MAX (helicopter) extended with a HELIUX LITE pod (fixed-wing), run from a single controller
Result: 30% increase in sensor utilisation; ~1,300 flight hours/year; payback cut from ~18 to ~10 months
The critical role of powerline scanning in infrastructure safety – a case study in Spain
With the AISPECO HELIUX MAX system, Heligràfics has conducted powerline scanning projects across Spain. Regular inspections catch hazards – damaged wires, worn components, fallen trees – before they cause outages, fires or accidents. Heligràfics’ scans have identified underground and buried bases, rusted structures, bird nests on insulators, missing insulating discs, and poorly visible warning plaques: the kind of problems that go unnoticed without regular, comprehensive scanning.
Across these projects, Heligràfics has flown HELIUX MAX with two different sensor loadouts – both on the same platform, matched to what each mission required:
Sensor setup A
- RIEGL VUX-240 LiDAR scanner
- Applanix AP+30 GNSS/IMU positioning system
- 2 × Phase One iXM-RS150F cameras, 70mm lens (45° front and back obliques at 15° heading)
- Jenoptik Blackbird XGA thermal camera (45° back oblique at 15° heading)
Sensor setup B
- RIEGL VUX-1 LiDAR scanner
- Applanix AP+30 GNSS/IMU positioning system
- 2 × Phase One iXM-RS150F cameras (front and back obliques)
- Jenoptik Blackbird XGA thermal camera
Results
Fewer surprises in the field
These inspections consistently surface issues that are easy to miss without comprehensive sensor coverage: underground and buried bases, rusted structures, bird nests on insulators, missing insulating discs, and poorly visible warning plaques. Catching them early matters for several reasons. It keeps crews safe by flagging risks before they cause accidents. It keeps clients compliant with regulatory and environmental standards, avoiding penalties. It’s more cost-effective than emergency repairs, since preventive maintenance is far cheaper than reactive fixes carried out after a failure. And it extends the working life of the infrastructure itself – catching small problems, like a nest or a missing disc, before they become structural damage.
Built for the detail work
HELIUX MAX made this level of detail possible. Multiple LiDAR sensors and cameras can be mounted at various angles for comprehensive, multi-perspective data collection, while the onboard Flight Management System is optimised for efficient corridor mapping and oblique flight paths across large areas. High-zoom oblique cameras mounted at multiple angles support precise inspection of hidden plaques and structural damage that would otherwise go undetected, and four-band NADIR imaging adds further spectral detail to each inspection.
From seasonal to year-round
Beyond the inspection data itself, extending the setup with a HELIUX LITE pod for fixed-wing work turned a seasonal limitation into a year-round capability. Flight hours grew from roughly 1,000 to approximately 1,300 per year, sensor utilisation rose by 30%, and the payback period on Heligràfics’ equipment investment fell from an estimated 18 months to around 10 – all from one modular system run across two aircraft types rather than two separate investments.
Antonio Nacher, CEO, Heligràfics
“AISPECO’s modularity turned our seasonal business into a year-round opportunity.”
“We operate across more than a dozen countries, which means we need service providers who understand regional complexity and can support us in remote locations. AISPECO excels in this role, thanks to the quality of its service and rapid response capacity.” – Antonio Nacher, CEO of Heligràfics