NOW HIRING, pipeline patrol pilots (Brewton Aviation)

Last week, I was writing about how I ended up not moving forward with a pipeline patrol job. I’ll add a little deep dive on the pipeline life below, so you have an idea of what it’s like.

Well, the company is now looking for a pilot to take that job, plus two more.

Their requirements are:

• 500TT, but if you are slightly below that, you can still apply

• willingness to agree to a 15-month commitment

• relocation to either West Texas, South Alabama (near Pensacola, FL) or MT

• being comfortable flying at 500’ AGL

• being able to handle flying in marginal VFR conditions (as this is what you’ll be exposed to a lot of the times)

I’ll explain each bullet point down below.

If you meet these requirements and are interested, let me know by clicking here. I do not recruit on their behalf, I’m just saving them the hassle of sorting through hundreds of [unqualified] resumes.

I will reach out to the qualified candidates.

I know it’s only 3 jobs when there are a thousand of us, but hey, this is a step in the right direction.

MY EXPERIENCE FLYING PIPELINES…

I had my first day of patrol on Memorial Day. We went up for four hours for an emergency call-out: there was a leak somewhere we had to look for.

That’s essentially the job: inspecting pipelines, checking for leaks and reporting suspicious activities going on too close to them.

For that reason, you fly at 500’ AGL all day (up to 13 hours if you really want to). I personally could barely take the 4.

I was sitting right seat, and was sick 80% of the time we were up there. When I say sick, I mean close to throwing up twice. To report leaks, you have to steep turn over the area and take pictures. That’s a LOT of turns, bumped around by the wind, randomly climbing and descending, enough to get my stomach upside down. I tried and pushed for two days but long story short, being in the observer seat was miserable.

But that’s a me problem, and not an issue for most of you I’m sure.

So let me tell you more about the requirements.

Minimums are at 500TT for insurance purposes, so if you’re at 450TT, feel free to apply because you’ll get the rest during training anyway.

Brewton Aviation is hiring immediately for the West Texas and South Alabama positions, and will be hiring for the Southeast Montana position in about two months. Locals are preferred, but relocation is accepted.

The 500’ AGL and marginal VFR talk is mostly to make sure you understand this is a dangerous job. Because you fly so low, as long as the ceiling is high enough, you are expected to be flying. So if your personal minimums are BKN20, this is not for you.

Now, let me tell you this: Freddie and Heather will never ask you to do anything unsafe, or anything that they won’t do themselves. I promise you as far as safety and good management goes, they are the best.

Everyone was great to be honest. You don’t have to worry about the toxic and exploitative factor at Brewton Aviation. They treated me like family.

And about the 15-month commitment, we didn’t really go into details because I wasn’t going to stay, however from what I understand, it’s not the same as the other companies that will go after you and your money if you want to leave. It’s basically just a bona fide agreement between adults and professionals.

They want pilots who WANT to get into the airplane and enjoy their work. Because it’s important work. Because it’s a lot of it too. You’ll fly on average 90 hours a month, and how you want to spread that out is basically up to you. I think the pay is well above average at $30 an hour.

At the end of the day, if I didn’t have a weak stomach, I probably would have enjoyed the flying. I’m just trying to get used to it all again after only flying from A to B for 3 years. Who knows, if the time is right and they still need someone by then, I might be able to then.

But Heather sent me a message a few days ago saying she’s looking for pilots immediately, so this opportunity is all yours guys. 🤪

If you’re interested, submit a resume and I’ll get back to you with details.

FYI, when The Road to 1500 was still brand new, we created a groupchat where I send these kind of jobs the moment I get them to the early supporters. It’s just easier and faster, and one of the guys in there already got an interview scheduled.

They said they’re still accepting resumes, but who knows for how long?

Don’t miss out, upload yours today.

Hope this helps. Three subscribers have gotten a job through this newsletter ever since I started. Let’s make it six!

If you too ever manage to land a job through the list or the ads, please, let me know, so we can pass your tips & tricks on to the others.

Talk soon, we still have the Skylens 2024 cohort in the works... 🙌