Powerline Sentry (PLS) of Wellington, Colorado has designed and manufactured industry leading wildlife mitigation products for over 20 years. Their Bird Flight Diverters are designed to deter birds from striking power lines in flight. These diverters are installed directly on power lines and the major cost isn’t the diverter itself but the human risk and cost that occurs during installation – lineman hanging out of helicopters installing one BFD at a time. PLS and FulcrumAir teamed up to come up with a much better solution – see the video below for a side by side comparison of old vs new. In addition to bird flight diverters, Powerline Sentry manufactures a complete line of other industry leading wildlife mitigation products solutions for the electrical utilities.
Industry-Leading Bird Flight Diverters
BFDs For Power Line Protection
LineFly x Bird Flight Diverters = Success
The LineFly is a fully autonomous robot that, when placed on the overhead wire by the E7500, begins the automatic process of quickly installing 24 bird flight diverters. This all happens in the safest and most efficient manner possible (as no one is within 100 meters of the operation) and is completed within a matter of minutes. The BFD can be placed at any spacing desired by the customer, to an accuracy of up to 2 inches (5 cm) between each BFD. The standard spacing is 15 feet (4.5 meters). This accurate placing can save considerable money over a larger project.
For smaller “one-off” installations where a small number of BFDs are required, FulcrumAir has a smaller drone that can be used. For example the LineFly installs 24 BFDs on a span, and if 26 are required, we will use our smaller drone to quickly install the remaining 2
Weight | 43kg |
Capacity | 24 BFD at a time |
Spacing of BD | Anything, customer choice Accurate placement to 2 cm |
Max. Slope of Wire: | 25 degrees |
Speed to Install 24 Diverters | |
→ When already on the line: | 4 to 5 minutes |
→ When from the Ground: | 12 to 15 minutes |
Target Install Rate (perfect conditions) | 545/day |
Wire Diameter | 3/8″ to 7/16″ |
Bird Diverters | Powerline Sentry BFD 050 |
Weather Conditions | -10°C to +28°C No rain, Max wind gusts up to 15 knots |
Regulatory | Transport Canada – Approval Received FAA Approval – In Process (United States) |

side by side comparison VIDEO - LINEFLY vs. HELICOPTER
This video shows a comparison of a traditional helicopter line marker install versus the FulcrumAir LineFly robotic installation method.