Oil pipeline air inspection

Rebel Lord

Rebel Lord

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Rebel Lord
Who here has done pipeline inspection? What's it like?

The hangar next to where I take lessons is hiring pilots to fly their caravans for tanscanadia. Sounds pretty fun to me.
 
A Caravan sounds like a lot of airplane for pipeline inspection?
 
alfadog said:
A Caravan sounds like a lot of airplane for pipeline inspection?
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That's what I thought. But I think they also haul parts but inspection is their main thing. They cover several states everyday. There's another operation that has a flys a Vulcan p68 for pipline patrol
 
There a C180 hangared across from me marked top and bottom of the wing 'Pipeline Patrol'. Flying low over Colorado and Wyoming sounds OK for mornings but I bet you get tried pretty quick on summer afternoons.
 
The pipeline guys covering this area are out of South Dakota and fly Cardinals and 172s. I'd think a Caravan would be far too expensive to operate for this kind of work unless their primary job is really something else.
 
I've heard pipeline is a great way to build hours, never done it though.

The 208 is a great plane, flew a hooped up 208b for a couple years, you'll love it.
 
James331 said:
I've heard pipeline is a great way to build hours, never done it though.

The 208 is a great plane, flew a hooped up 208b for a couple years, you'll love it.
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Must have had the Hula STC conversion...;);)....:D
 
RotorAndWing said:
FTFY.
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I think he makes a lot out of a little. Meaning that if he helped the guy one day with a DC-3, now he's an expert on the mechanics of DC-3s. On that basis, I don't doubt he "did" most of the things he claims to have done. And to a certain extent, I agree with him. You don't have to work years at something to know something about it. But only to a certain extent.
 
A friend's kid did it for a while. Was in TX with 172s. The company had a fatal last year I believe. Low altitude maneuvering and stall/spin. He's not with them anymore. Sounded 'reasonably' safe but tired old Skyhawks with minimum maintenance and lots of hot bumpy flying and poor charting of obstacles like towers made things more entertaining than necessary.
 
What do you have to look for on the pipeline when "patrolling"? How much attention do you give to the pipe, and how much looking for obstacles?

Is a leak (or whatever) discovered very often?
 
I met a pipeline patrol guy. He landed to warm up in a tiny airport in Iowa in the middle of winter. He was cold, very cold, after a flight, despite wearing heavy Carhart overalls. He remarked that the heat in his 182 wasn't all that it was cracked up to be.

I asked him what he did, and he said that he flew low, and mostly he looked for signs of farmers digging where they shouldn't. Typically the farmers were digging trenches to install tiling for drainage control.

It sounds like a perfect job for a drone. I'd guess this is a profession that won't last.

When he was done with his route in Iowa, he returned to Michigan by flying south of Chicago -- he would not fly over Lake Michigan in his 182.
 
You must be flying out of CXO. I used to work with those guys. They make the trip all the way up to Canada 24 times a year not to exceed greater than a 3 week interval. They're looking for leaks on the system and whether or not anyone is encroaching on the ROW (right of way). The caravans were initially bought for both patrol and running parts to projects that spanned several states, but they never got to fly that particular mission.

I used to hitch a ride with them from SGR to OK for meetings. Great group of guys. Sadly they never let me sit right seat...



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I think a lot depends on who you work for and where you are flying. A good friend of mine flies as an observer and from what I can tell it does get boring after a while. If there is flooding or seismic activity, expect to fly more - sometimes when you were hoping to do something else. I don't think leaks are that common, but reporting threats along the pipe are - like the farmer that decides to use his backhoe near the pipe and parks it in the right of way and needs a reminder not to dig around the pipe.

I fly an aerial photography route that kind of parallels one pipe and I can tell you that you get to know that bit of terrain pretty well, but I could see how a new antenna or something could catch you if you got complacent.

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Tmcdavitt said:
You must be flying out of CXO. I used to work with those guys. They make the trip all the way up to Canada 24 times a year not to exceed greater than a 3 week interval. They're looking for leaks on the system and whether or not anyone is encroaching on the ROW (right of way). The caravans were initially bought for both patrol and running parts to projects that spanned several states, but they never got to fly that particular mission.

I used to hitch a ride with them from SGR to OK for meetings. Great group of guys. Sadly they never let me sit right seat...



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Ya that's right.
 
So, why couldn't this be done with up to date Google Earth images (assuming they were updated every few weeks - which is probably coming soon)?
 
dans2992 said:
So, why couldn't this be done with up to date Google Earth images (assuming they were updated every few weeks - which is probably coming soon)?
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Because they're not updated with anywhere near that frequency. Satellite time is expensive.
 
From what I hear most of the contracts require these pipes to be flown at least twice a week. Also if you think about it the drone isn't going to be that much more efficient. Someone still has to monitor the video output feed and someone still has to operate the drone and you still need mechanics, etc. The way I see it the only thing a drone really saves is a tiny bit of liability money protecting the pilot.
 
Around here they seem to use light singles for pipeline/powerline patrols. Looks like a Cardinal for the powerline patrol out my office window. A yellow one, I see him from time to time...flying low inside the surface area of the class B.
 
denverpilot said:
Because they're not updated with anywhere near that frequency. Satellite time is expensive.
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I heard there were some new satellites coming online that would make this possible... Eventually.
 
I think we should be pointing out that GA is actually still efficient and likely just as cheap or cheaper than a mega expensive satellite that can't identify issues along the pipeline rather than getting all negative about it and how GA is going to lose this to drones or satellites.

Sometimes we are our own worst enemy from a PR standpoint.
 
RyanShort1 said:
I think we should be pointing out that GA is actually still efficient and likely just as cheap or cheaper than a mega expensive satellite that can't identify issues along the pipeline rather than getting all negative about it and how GA is going to lose this to drones or satellites.

Sometimes we are our own worst enemy from a PR standpoint.
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Only if you have an endless supply of kids who'll do it for below poverty level pay. And we do. But that's not really something to be proud of GA for.
 
It's a good time building job and some pay more than regional starting pay
 
RyanShort1 said:
It's a good time building job and some pay more than regional starting pay
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Not a time building job with the guys that do it here in Central Ohio. They told me their company name and I looked it up. Out of Texas, requiring ATP minimums to fly a 172. Puts me out of the running at 800 hours.

David
 
A large part of it has to be visual signs of leaks, storm damage, right-of-way infringement, things like that.
 
I've talked to a couple of guys who flew pipleline patrol. I'm not sure that would be the right job for me. I'd get relaxed and lazy probably, staring at the ground all day. These guys seemed to take their job seriously. These guys had set courses that they had to cover in a timeframe. When bad weather sets in for a while it would put a kink in their britches.
 
RyanShort1 said:
Also if you think about it the drone isn't going to be that much more efficient. Someone still has to monitor the video output feed and someone still has to operate.
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Capital cost: Drone is maybe 1/10 cost to buy.

Consumables: Fuel will be less for the drone as it need not carry a 200# pilot. Maybe a lot less.

Insurance: Way cheaper for the drone out in the countryside -- if it crashes nobody dies.

Pilot & MX cost: Aside from the insurance component I don't know, maybe you are right that they are similar.

Wouldn't the drone be better as it could fly <500' ?
 
NoHeat said:
Capital cost: Drone is maybe 1/10 cost to buy.

Consumables: Fuel will be less for the drone as it need not carry a 200# pilot. Maybe a lot less.

Insurance: Way cheaper for the drone out in the countryside -- if it crashes nobody dies.

Pilot & MX cost: Aside from the insurance component I don't know, maybe you are right that they are similar.

Wouldn't the drone be better as it could fly <500' ?
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I "think" the pipeline guys fly at around 200-300AGL ?
 
Pretty much how I pictured it:

Pipeline Patrol
Aerial patrol of pipelines is an effective means of rapidly covering large areas of pipeline assets. Northern States Aviation provides both scheduled and "on-demand" patrols for our customers. We are under contract to provide aerial inspection of over 1,800 miles of petroleum products pipeline.

Normally scheduled patrols typically focus on observation of changes in the area and on potential problems (like construction equipment operating near or on a covered right of way). The focus of any patrol can be tailored to address specific needs due to environmental circumstances or regulatory changes. Often, patrols are conducted as a direct result of natural disasters such as floods, hurricanes and earthquakes. In these cases, the point is to find damage quickly to direct repair activity, thus preventing further hazards.

Our Pilots are trained to observe and report the following anomalies
  • Pipeline leaks (dead vegetation, discoloration, etc.)
  • Sunken backfill
  • Exposed Pipe
  • Evidence of Encroachments onto the right-of-way
  • Land Erosion
  • Broken Terraces
  • Construction or excavation on or adjacent to the right-of-way
  • Evidence of heavy traffic across the right-of-way

http://www.northernstatesaviation.com/Patrol.htm
 
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ATTENTION PILOTS:​

UNFORTUNATELY WE ARE NOT HIRING AT THIS TIME.

WE APPLOGIZE BUT WE ARE NOT ACCEPTING ANY PHONE CALLS, EMAILS, OR RESUMES FOR ANY REASON CONCERNING EMPLOYMENT.

FOR GENERAL INFORMATION OUR MINMUM PILOT FLIGHT TIME REQUIREMENTS ARE THE SAME AS FOR FAR PART 135 OPERATIONS, 2000 HOURS PIC. ALL PILOTS MUST HOLD AN ATP, A&P, AND MUST HAVE SIMILAR LOW LEVEL / MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN / REMOTE OPERATIONS TYPE FLYING EXPERIENCE. NO EXCEPTIONS TO THESE ABSOLUTE MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS ARE CONSIDERED.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST AND PLEASE RESPECT OUR TIME.

http://www.pipelinepatrol.com/contact-us/
 
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