Although it seems ridiculous to an outsider, operating in less than marginal VFR weather is common in the Louisiana oil field. I was in a Cessna 185 amphibian, engine idling, pointed into the 30-plus-knot wind, holding position in the ship channel southeast of New Orleans. Unfortunately, in the chaos that led up to this point, I forgot about the fist-sized hole in the right float. I wasn't even scheduled to fly that day, and it was a day I was glad not to have a flight. Even though Louisiana floatplane flying went on in all but the worst weather, there were days when a silent phone was your friend. I was flying for a Part 91 corporate flight department, so our weather rules were not as strict as those of a charter operator. Company rules prohibited single-pilot IFR, so we did quite a bit of scud running.
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