For refineries, petrochemical & LNG sites

Drone Flare Stack Inspection

Drone inspections from $175 near you

Refinery towers and stacks silhouetted in warm evening light
Refinery columns and stacks against a blue sky
Two large white storage tanks beside a green field
Close view of industrial pipework and a stack
What do you need?
Where's the property?

Free to post · Usually a reply the same day

219 inspection pilots listed · Pay the pilot directly, no commission

Independent FAA Part 107 pilots who cover your area quote and fly the job.

Free to post

Two minutes, no card, no commitment.

Pay the pilot directly

No commission or markup on their price.

FAA Part 107 pilots

The license all paid drone work requires.

Usually a reply the same day

From a pilot, or from our team if no pilot has answered.

How it works

Three steps, and the first one is free

  1. Describe the job

    The form opens with this page's answers already filled in. Add the location and anything specific to your site.

  2. A pilot near you sends a price

    Pilots whose service area and services match are emailed. Usually a reply the same day, from a pilot or from our team.

  3. Book them and pay them directly

    Check their certificate, kit and sample work, then pay the pilot. SkyLog takes no cut and adds no markup.

What to know before you book

What the survey looks at

The flare tip itself: erosion and burn-back of the tip material, cracking, missing or damaged sections, and the state of any wind shield or flame retention devices. The pilot burners and ignition system, including thermocouples and their cabling, which is one of the most common findings and one of the least visible from anywhere else. Steam or air injection rings and nozzles, and whether they are blocked, eroded or missing. The flare seal where visible. Then the supporting structure: the stack or derrick, ladders and platforms, guy wires and their terminations on guyed flares, coating condition and corrosion, and the condition of instrumentation and cabling running up the structure. On many sites the pipe rack and knock-out drum get documented on the same visit because the aircraft is already airborne.

Flying near a lit flare

This is the part that makes it a specialist job rather than an ordinary tall-structure inspection. A burning flare produces a substantial thermal plume with strong and unpredictable updraughts directly above it, and flying through that is how aircraft are lost. Approaches are made from upwind and to the side, at a standoff determined on the day by the flare's rate and the wind, and the plan changes if the flaring rate changes. Radiant heat is a limit on how close an airframe can go. Wind direction shifts move the plume. The practical consequences: the pilot needs to be able to see and judge the plume, someone with operations knowledge should be involved in the plan, and there needs to be an agreed way to communicate if flaring rate changes mid-flight. Ask a prospective pilot how they intend to handle the plume; the quality of that answer tells you most of what you need to know.

Site rules on a live process plant

The airspace is the simple part. A refinery or petrochemical site brings a permit to work, a hazardous area classification that governs what equipment can be taken where, an escort, a site induction and often a formal management-of-change or risk assessment before an aircraft is allowed on site at all. Some operators require the aircraft to remain outside a defined boundary or restrict overflight of particular units. Radio protocols and a stop-work channel matter here more than on almost any other kind of site. All of this takes longer to arrange than the inspection takes to fly, so post early and state your requirements — a pilot who has worked a plant before will expect every item on this list.

Scoping it

Give the stack height and type — self-supported, guyed or derrick — and whether it will be lit and flaring during the survey, since that decides the whole flight plan. Say what needs documenting: tip only, tip plus ignition system, or the full structure. State the resolution you need in terms of the smallest thing that must be visible, because tip erosion is judged on detail. Ask for a report indexed by component with severity classifications, and ask for the imagery to be captured consistently enough to compare against the next survey — flare tips degrade progressively, and two comparable surveys are worth more than four incomparable ones. Say whether thermal is wanted; it can be informative on the structure and around the tip, though the flare itself dominates any thermal image.

What this settles

  • The tip: erosion and burn-back, cracking, missing or damaged sections, wind shield and flame retention devices.
  • Pilot burners and the ignition system including thermocouples and cabling — one of the most common findings and least visible from anywhere else.
  • Steam or air injection rings and nozzles, and whether they are blocked, eroded or missing.
  • The supporting structure: stack or derrick, ladders and platforms, guy wires and terminations, coating and corrosion, instrumentation and cabling.

What it does not

  • Fly through or above the plume. A burning flare produces strong, unpredictable updraughts, and that is how aircraft are lost.
  • Set a standoff in advance. It is determined on the day by flaring rate and wind, and the plan changes if the rate changes.
  • Assess the flare's internals, or anything requiring contact.
  • Get on site quickly. Permit to work, hazardous area classification, escort, induction and often a formal management-of-change come first.

Ask a prospective pilot how they intend to handle the plume. The quality of that answer tells you most of what you need to know.

Why post it on SkyLog

No shutdown to look

A survey while the flare is lit and in service replaces a decision that previously cost a turnaround slot. The economics are so lopsided that the inspection question becomes how often rather than whether.

The tip, actually seen

Tip condition, pilot burners, igniters, steam and air injection rings, the flare seal and the upper structure are all things nobody has looked at closely since the last turnaround. From the air they are a zoom lens away.

Plan the turnaround from evidence

Knowing the tip's condition months ahead changes a turnaround from a discovery exercise into a planned one — parts ordered, scope agreed, and no surprise when the scaffold goes up.

Free to post

Posting and receiving quotes costs nothing, and SkyLog takes no commission and adds no markup. You pay the pilot you hire, at the price the two of you agree.

Inspection pilots with published profiles

Real published profiles. Open any one to see credentials, kit, service area and sample work before you post.

Inspection pilots by state

Before you post

Can the flare stay lit during the inspection?

Yes — that is the main reason to do it this way. The pilot works around the thermal plume, approaching from upwind and to the side at a standoff set by the flaring rate and the wind on the day.

Is it safe to fly near a flare?

With a pilot who understands the plume, yes; without one it is a way to lose an aircraft. The updraught directly above a lit flare is severe and the radiant heat limits standoff. Ask specifically how they plan the approach.

How much does it cost?

More than a general asset inspection, because of the site requirements and the skill involved. Inspection quotes on SkyLog have ranged $100 to about $1,550 with a $300 median across 13 quotes spanning all inspection types — a refinery flare survey sits well above the middle of that. Post the stack for real numbers.

How often should a flare be inspected?

That is set by your own integrity and reliability programme. What aerial inspection changes is the cost of looking, which is why many sites moved from inspecting at turnaround to inspecting annually or more often.

Can it replace a physical tip inspection?

It replaces the need to build access in order to see. Anything requiring contact — measurement, testing, or the repair itself — still needs the turnaround. The value is knowing what the turnaround will involve before it starts.

What about hazardous area classification?

It is a real constraint and it is yours to specify. Some sites restrict where standard equipment may be taken and require the aircraft to remain outside a boundary. State it in the post so pilots can quote against your actual rules.

From a job poster

The jobs nobody else would quote

“I was not expecting to have a response so quickly after calling countless different companies.”
Jared OlroydOwner, Specialty Cleaning Agents
Quote in under 2 hours

Post your flare inspection free

Give the stack height and type, whether it will be flaring, and your site's permit requirements.

Overhead view of tiled rooftops in a dense town at golden hour