What would be a reasonable cost to charter a small plane (cesna) or helicopter (robinson r22) for aerial photography, pipeline or power line inspection? I've seen a few hourly rates published online for Robinsons (roughly 250USD) but I assume this doesn't include fuel?

not sure where you are looking to do it. but, an acquaintance of mine runs Apex Helicopters in Houston.

this is one of the things he does.

http://www.apexhelicopters.net/

A friend of mine is working with a drone company and they are starting to work with pipeline companies. Send me a pm if you want his contact information.

Wow $250 is cheap by for an R22 I guess that makes sense

We flew a Hughes 500 at $1200/hr wet with ground support - operating cost alone probably in the $750-$950 range but you've got ferry costs to consider on top of that

The company I work for owns a couple of Drones with licensed pilots, yes it may sound weird but to operate commercially the drone pilot must be licensed. I believe one has a 10-mile range and the other around a 30-mile range. We are offering this service for our current clients which include pretty much all major utilities. If you are interested, I'd b happy to talk more off-line. Below is my texags e-mail but i'll respond from my work account if interested.

07 DOT 09 DOT 14ag AT gmail DOT com

I know a guy who would take you up in a Cessna or a piper, he runs 500 for the day plus 150 per engine hour.