Flying is Flying

My job definitely doesn't suck.

My daily activities are usually ground-based. I work for TransCanada Pipelines. The short version of the job description is that I do valve maintenance, excavation investigations, and pipeline patrol and I keep people from striking the 1,300psi natural gas pipe and blowing themselves up. I've always been a mechanic/engineer so it suits me perfectly.

Once or twice per year though I am lucky enough to be able to join our patrol pilots and fly along the 200 miles of pipeline. My chauffer this week was Dan Sayewich, a 37 year helo veteran and overall radical dude. Our ride for the day was TransCanada's brand-spankin'-new, 3 month old Airbus H125.


Airbus H125 and pilot Dan during fuel-up: Berlin, NH

"Don't touch stuff.."

I was picked up in Colebrook, NH and we ran the gauntlet from the Canadian Border down to Portland, ME and back.

The patrol objective: look for excavation activity near the pipeline and see where we need to do brush cutting for 2018. Exciting, right? Okay, maybe not. But I had an excuse to commit aviation.

All of this only took about 3 hours, and we skimmed along just over the tree tops so we could get a close look at everything. When we would spot anything near the pipeline Dan would crank it into a wingover.. er.. a rotorover. It's neat looking straight down at the ground out the side window. Being in the air stationary, backwards, sideways, and spinning is strange when you've been flying fixed wing your entire life.

Snow capped Mt.Washington

We flew through the White Mountains and got to see Mt.Washington in all her glory. Freezing and snow capped.

We also flew over Mt.Success in Berlin, NH and found the 1950s wreckage of a DC3 that crashed into the side of the mountain while on approach to Berlin Airport where we were fueling up. It was November 30th and the visibility was poor with snow showers, they crashed right at the summit at 3,440ft. Of the 7 on board- two died and the pilot was seriously injured but they were able to stay warm and hang on until rescuers were able to locate them on December 2nd and airlift them off the mountain.


DC3 Fuselage wreckage on top of Mt.Success

You can read more about the crash here

Hang gliding season is only a couple of weeks away now. And after spending a day in the air, albeit in an egg-beater, I'm JONESING.