Convair CV-580

Door-to-Door as Fast as Humanly Possible

AirFreight.com is committed to providing expedited, door-to-door delivery services for time-critical shipments. We offer 24/7 coverage, ensuring that shipments are tracked by Expeditors around the clock, every day of the year. Clients benefit from a single point of contact, avoiding long wait times and impersonal call centers. Our suite of services includes expedited, same-day, and time-critical options tailored to meet urgent delivery needs.

The Challenge

After twenty years of service in the harsh, desert-like, high-altitude environment, a good portion of the systems at the photovoltaic farm were showing their age and near the end of their recommended service lives. Some of the equipment was operating well past their replacement dates due to budget constraints and had been replaced piecemeal on an emergency basis.

The operators monitoring the systems had voiced real concerns about one of the 2,500 kVA transformers, although those concerns seemed to be lost on decisions affecting the bottom line. Losing that system would mean an immediate reduction in the power available to the surrounding communities, and the electrical demands of the hottest summer on record were making the situation worse.

Because of that, notices had been distributed to customers asking them to reduce their power consumption between 4 and 9pm, but it was difficult to get people to comply when the temperatures were in the 90s inside their homes. Later that very hot evening, as the sun was setting, that transformer failed, and every ceiling fan, air conditioner, and television in the 30 square miles surrounding the farm switched off, and the sound inside of usually electrified homes was noticeably quiet.

The farm manager and team, who had been monitoring the failure from the control room, drove out to the transformer to assess the impact. As they suspected, the transformer had experienced thermal failure due to high ambient temperatures, which led to a break somewhere in the circuit windings. The area would be without power until the transformer was installed.

How We Solve It

A call was placed to AirFreight.com to arrange an ultra-critical shipment, door-to-door as fast as humanly possible. The Expeditor assessed the farm’s needs and recommended transportation from the manufacturer to the nearest airport, exclusive use of an aircraft to the airport closest to the farm, and offloading and transportation of the transformer to the farm. The CV-580 was a solid choice for the job. It could accommodate the transformer’s weight and dimensions and easily operate in and out of the high and hot, non-towered town airport, without having to resort to a larger aircraft, which wouldn’t be able to land due to the short runway.

12 hours later, with in-flight tracking and continual updates provided by the Expeditor, the aircraft touched down at the town’s airport, and the transformer was delivered to the farm for installation. That afternoon, power was once again making its way to area homes.  

AirFreight.com was able to provide door-to-door service in record time, and we helped save the population from enduring another relentless day without the benefit of electricity to power their cooling devices.