DirectTo

Because unfortunately, it's not the FAA nearly as much as it's the DPE's we all deal/dealt with at one point or another (yeah, yeah, DPE's are representative of the FAA, but they also have a great deal of flexibility in setting their own standards).

Example 1: Look at some of the zero-to-hero puppy mills with on-staff DPEs...you don't think they have a much better pass rate than non-staffed guys? Of course, have to keep that image. When I was instructing, some of the most incompetent instructors came from large schools (ERAU, UND, ATP, etc.) and some of the best came from tiny, no-name mom-and-pop shops at Podunk Airport, USA.

Example 2: I flew with a guy a few weeks ago, pretty fresh commercial certificate (within six months) from a part 141 four year university program. Friend of a friend. Couldn't do basic instrument work to save his life...leveling off was a zero-g experience, when he 'corrected' from drifting off heading I thought we should probably get the aileron cables inspected for stretching. Zero yaw control.

Of course, some pilots are better than others, but some are worse than others to. And as an insurance company, you have no idea what you're getting into, just what a person looks like on paper and what the statistics say they'll do in an emergency.

BeardedFlyer

This may be a dumb question, but what exactly is being insured here when it comes to a pipeline patrol operation, the airplane right? If that is the case then how could a little single engine Cessna be so outrageous to insure? And what would change the premiums with this type of thing? If I'm a company trying to make profit, and all I'm trying to insure is a lone soul operating a c-172 over sparsely populated terrain then I'm going with the bare minimum insurance plan right?

A retired UAL CA I know has a C-182 with full hull coverage; now his son, who is only a 150 hour private pilot flies it around and all Avemco wanted to see from him was a high performance endorsement with at least 10 hours dual received before they would add him to the plan.

I must be missing something.

BeardedFlyer

It looks like right along with crop dusting, pipeline patrol now too has become a career track within itself. What is the pay range for guys willing to stick around at one of the better companies?? And how many hours are they flying each month?

If flying pipe could really lead to job security,full benefits, a livable wage, decent retirement, home every night, etc etc... it does begin to look sort of tempting when compared to what guys have been put through in the world of 121 recently. And as a bonus, the flying looks really fun.

LowSlowT2

It depends on the policy. It could depend on the contract. It could depend on any number of things - how much liability, medical, blah, blah, blah...too many variables to say "just hull insurance"

dustrpilot

It was in the 70's when he was doing it and I haven't been around it since, so I'm not sure what the pay is like now. It was just a living wage and his corporate gig did pay better while it lasted. He worked for 2 companies in TUL. First company was a contractor with planes based all over the country. It was a low pay, gone all week in a junky plane. Second place was a company owned flight department. Better pay and better planes. Still not corporate pay, but livable. And home every night.
The flying was lower than 500'. What I saw was under 100' or tree top. The easy runs was miles of pretty much straight lines until you got to what I remember being called laterals. Then it was short lines and a lot of turns. My impression was the laterals being the most dangerous part though I never did it myself, just rode along occasionally.
My advice would be to approach it with a healthy dose of respect. There is more to it than just flying kinda low over the ground. I remember pilots getting killed with some regularity.

USMCFLYR

My guess........LIABILITY!!

ANY mistake and the company had better have some deep pockets.

USMCFLYR

Outlaw2097

its an insurance thing. i piped last year, it was 750 just to talk to them. real nice people, but face it this is dangerous flying.

biggest skill id say you need to have is instrument flying. if you can multitask and lead the turn so when you roll out, you are still on the line, all while maintaining a low altitude and taking notes, you should be alright. ive flown with guys who come up to the bend in the line, start the turn, and then roll out a quarter mile away, even with that 59 degree crap.

just remember: do not circle the same location twice without rolling out and letting the wake dissapate for a minute. that will drop you into the ground too quick to do anything about.

rpatte1637

Hi everyone, I just started working for a pipeline patrol company last month. Their minimums were 750 TT and as said in the previous replies some of the requirements come from insurance companies (commercial aviation insurance is more strict than private aviation insurance and a lot higher in cost, from personal experience) and some from the companies they fly for. As Dustrpilot said, most of the flights are done at around 500 feet or below, we have a wavier for 200 feet. Most of the main lines are miles and mile of straight line with clearing width that vary from about 50 feet wide to 200 feet wide. Laterals clearing are usually about 50 wide and can twist through the country side with a lot of sharp turns as well as some of the main lines around cities and airports. The flying is not hard and I will most likely be home every night, except when weather prevents. My lines take me from Mississippi to North Carolina every week, while some lines have to be flown weekly, other are every two weeks or once a month, which is regulated by the DOT, according to material carried and pipe size. As far a pay, it varies from company to company, but there are pilots out there who do make a career out of it, it’s not a high pressure job, as long as lines are covered in a timely matter and any problems are reported to the pipeline companies, everyone is happy. As far the planes, the ones I fly may not look pretty, but they are maintained well and I feel safe flying them at a low altitude, the one thing that the pilots have told me is to top off every time you land that way you don’t get caught having to make a few extra passes to take pictures and get coordinates for a problem on the right of way and then find yourself low on fuel in the middle of nowhere. Overall it is a good job, you just have to be careful and aware of your surrounding (antennas) and I can see where some pilots could make a career out of this, where else can you fly pretty much on your own time schedule, be home every night, and get paid for it.

FlyJSH

Insurance is based on worst case: you flying a 152 into an elementary school for example.




A decent sized pipeline can pump 100 MILLION cubic feet of natural gas: enough gas to run a kitchen stove 1000 years. An average petroleum pipe will carry 4000 barrels per hour or the equivalent of an Exxon Valdez spill every +/- five days (depending on whose estimate you use).

There are places such as river crossings and pump stations where the pipe is above ground. Imagine a 182 crashing into one of these lines. Just how much damage could be done, and how much money lost? (Exxon spent something like $2 billion on the clean up alone.) Now imagine that spill occurring in or near a city like Houston.

With numbers like that, it kinda makes sense to require 1500 hours.

BeardedFlyer

Thanks for all the thoughts/info everyone. Quality replies.