The Rotamarka wire marker blends elements of movement, contrasting colors and three-dimensional form to make powers lines, cables, wires and conductors more conspicuous to pilots.

Wire collisions make up a significant number of accidents annually in the aerial application industry due to the difficulty in seeing such wires used for either telecommunications or power transmission. Over the 10-year period from 2011 to 2020, there was an average of nine ag aviation wire strike accidents per year. Over that same 10-year period, wire strikes accounted for 16% of all fatal ag aviation accidents.

Now a U.S. dealer for the Australian company Balmoral Engineering— Sicame USA—is established stateside to market the much-easier-to-see “Rotamarka” wire marker, which attaches to transmission wires. NAAA first reported on the Rotamarka in the Summer 2019 issue of Agricultural Aviation. The marker is unique in that it combines movement with multi-color vanes and reflectors to alert the pilot to the wire. A video of the marker can be found here. More information about the marker is available on the Balmoral Engineering website.

In Australia, there is also a Look up and Live app that uses geospatial information to digitally mark the location of overhead power lines. Wires that cross corners or have their supporting poles hidden by background obstructions such as trees are the most difficult to identify. Guy wires on poles and towers also contribute to accidents each year. A quality wire marker would reduce the frequency of these accidents.