Borescope/Endoscope--Do You Use One for Airframe Inspections?

[Roger Wilco]

Coming soon to a hangar near me: Annual Inspection 8, starring Borescope.

In a few days I will get together with the IA to hatch a plan for this year's annual inspection. I intend to float the idea of using a nice articulating borescope/endoscope to inspect internal areas where we would normally have to remove access panels and covers to eyeball.

During ownership of three airplanes, I have found that much of the wear and tear that a plane suffers is actually incurred during annual inspections. And every year, I spend many hours taking my airplane apart for inspection, removing hundreds of screws to open access panels etc., and then reassembling it all afterwards. I think that I can significantly reduce the time required for disassembly/reassembly through the use of an articulating video camera (borescope) to inspect much of the airframe without having to remove all of the covers and panels necessary to conduct the inspection by naked eye. If I only open the (relatively) few panels required to access the lubrication points, that should provide more than enough access for the borescope to reach just about every nook and cranny in the fuselage, and much of the wings. This would save a LOT of unscrewing and rescrewing and reduce wear-and-tear.

Has anyone had success using a borescope/endoscope in this manner?

 

[Gary Ward]

Aren't you still gonna have to remove some panels to gain access?

 

[bonefishpete]

Seems invasive

 

[Bell206]

Has anyone had success using a borescope/endoscope in this manner?

Any time you save on not removing the panels will be lost trying to maneuver the borescope around to see everything. Now using one to augment your inspection with it opened up, definitely. It would also prevent the ability to clean area and perform a tactile check of any items in the area. And not to mention the annual/100hr rules guidance also requires removing or opening those panels. If anything I think it would take longer to perform the inspection through a borescope with its limited field of vision.

 

[DreadPirateWill]

What airframe - and in particular what inspections are onerous?
I use borescope every annual, in multiple places. But - it generally doesn't supplant removing inspection panels.
I'm told one exception is the 5 year tail inspection on a 180. If you trim full nose down and remove rear horizontal pivot bolts you can wedge a piece of wood in and use borescope to get visual on all the necessary structure. Still gotta pull inspection panels and tailcone, just don't have to pull the whole empenage.

 

[Roger Wilco]

Any time you save on not removing the panels will be lost trying to maneuver the borescope around to see everything. Now using one to augment your inspection with it opened up, definitely. It would also prevent the ability to clean area and perform a tactile check of any items in the area. And not to mention the annual/100hr rules guidance also requires removing or opening those panels. If anything I think it would take longer to perform the inspection through a borescope with its limited field of vision.

Thank you for the reply. You may be right about the time savings involved. This "articulating industrial borescope" that I acquired has a pretty good field of vision, good lighting, and a side-view camera. I've been using it on other vehicles and poking around inside the walls of the house, and it's better than expected. I'll rely on the IA to determine which panels must be removed to meet the annual/100hr guidance that you refer to.

 

[Roger Wilco]

Aren't you still gonna have to remove some panels to gain access?

Yes, as mentioned in the OP.

 

[Roger Wilco]

What airframe - and in particular what inspections are onerous?
I use borescope every annual, in multiple places. But - it generally doesn't supplant removing inspection panels.
I'm told one exception is the 5 year tail inspection on a 180. If you trim full nose down and remove rear horizontal pivot bolts you can wedge a piece of wood in and use borescope to get visual on all the necessary structure. Still gotta pull inspection panels and tailcone, just don't have to pull the whole empenage.

Prefer not to state the airframe. The inspections themselves are not onerous, so long as all of the covers and panels are removed. It's the time involved in the removal and replacement of the panels and covers that I'm trying to reduce, along with the wear and tear that seems almost unavoidable no matter how careful I am.

 

[theplanesalon]

Three weeks ago, we received an airplane for paint that had 22,000 hours.

The top of the wings had a large number of cherry max rivets and olympics, many of which had heads that had sheared off.
A borescope revealed that a number of ribs had material removed from corrosion previously and had been zinc chromated, while the inside of the wings was doused in ACF 50.

The sheet metal on top of the wings had to be removed, treated, acid etched, alodined and primered. The borescope was essential in determining whether or not to continue digging further.
I can use a ton of similar examples where we've uncovered cylinder issues, on and on ...so yes.

 

[Roger Wilco]

Three weeks ago, we received an airplane for paint that had 22,000 hours.

The top of the wings had a large number of cherry max rivets and olympics, many of which had heads that had sheared off.
A borescope revealed that a number of ribs had material removed from corrosion previously and had been zinc chromated, while the inside of the wings was doused in ACF 50.

The sheet metal on top of the wings had to be removed, treated, acid etched, alodined and primered. The borescope was essential in determining whether or not to continue digging further.
I can use a ton of similar examples where we've uncovered cylinder issues, on and on ...so yes.

Yikes!

One of my memorable logbook entries involved an off-airport landing. When the horizontal stabilizers were removed for transport, I was stunned to see an area of severe corrosion inside the left stabilizer, including the inboard forward spar, that would not have been visible from the inspection access port. It might have been possible to see it with a borescope, but you’d have to know to look there. Oddly, the rest of the airframe, as disassembled, was free of corrosion. Scary. But the worst part was that I had just fueled-up with really expensive gas, which was pumped out of the tanks into 55 gal.drums and carted away. That hurt to watch.

 

[Magman]

My thought is a scope is just another tool in the box. It would have been

great if aircraft were designed to be inspected via scope. Structural ports

of 1/2 in ID would be perfect in many places. An alternative would be

for the mfg to provide kits or data to do so. An example would be inspection

of Cherokee wing forward attach point. In some cases removal of the wing

is needed to do so.

 

[Bacho]

The scope is a useful tool in the box. I think you’d find it worthwhile to have one even though I don’t think your plan of not opening panels is worthwhile. Half the time mine is used to find dropped hardware.

 

[Bell206]

It would have been great if aircraft were designed to be inspected via scope

FWIW: If you're so inclined, you can add those specific airframe access points as an alteration now, especially for those unique inspection requirements as you mentioned.

 

[Magman]

FWIW: If you're so inclined, you can add those specific airframe access points as an alteration now, especially for those unique inspection requirements as you mentioned.

Specifically my reference is to SB 1006B and the thread a little ways back.

I would really like to see Piper provide data on location and type of port.

Some do not have the vent mentioned and it appears it would be better

than pulling wings.

 

[Steamflyer]

Scope gets continual use. Along with eyeballs and mirrors. Very handy but sometimes a bit cumbersome. Just another tool.

 

[Bell206]

Specifically my reference is to SB 1006B and the thread a little ways back. I would really like to see Piper provide data on location and type of port.

Why wait for Piper? You can add borescope access points per data found in AC43.13-1B. And you wouldn't be the first mechanic to do so. While Cessna makes it easy to add additional access panels on their wings, the addition of a 1/2" inspection hole on a Piper to check the spar caps per 1006 is not out of your reach either.

 

[MRC01]

Coming soon to a hangar near me: Annual Inspection 8, starring Borescope.
...
In a few days I will get together with the IA to hatch a plan for this year's annual inspection. I intend to float the idea of using a nice articulating borescope/endoscope to inspect internal areas where we would normally have to remove access panels and covers to eyeball.
...
Has anyone had success using a borescope/endoscope in this manner?

I started this year's annual yesterday with my local A&P-IA. My borescope is useful not only for the engine - but in many other places. We ran it up the exhaust system, into access panels, inside the wings, underneath the floors, etc.

That said, we still do remove all the access panels. They are circular and attach with 3-4 screws, so while it is a PITA, I don't see how it increases wear & tear.

 

[Roger Wilco]

That said, we still do remove all the access panels. They are circular and attach with 3-4 screws, so while it is a PITA, I don't see how it increases wear & tear.

Consider yourself lucky--many airplanes require that hundreds of screws be removed and re-installed. Or maybe just mine.

 

[Lindberg]

Prefer not to state the airframe.

Consider yourself lucky--many airplanes require that hundreds of screws be removed and re-installed. Or maybe just mine.

Why all the secrecy? Are you inspecting an SR-73 or something?

 

[schmookeeg]

My first thought was Mooney

 

[Gary Ward]

Consider yourself lucky--many airplanes require that hundreds of screws be removed and re-installed. Or maybe just mine.

I bought a DeWalt powered screwdriver for removing inspection plate screws. I helps a lot removing them. I still tighten them with a reg screwdriver though.

 

[MRC01]

Consider yourself lucky--many airplanes require that hundreds of screws be removed and re-installed. Or maybe just mine.

My plane has at least 40 access panels, each with 3-4 screws. So that is over 100 screws anyway.

 

[Magman]

Why wait for Piper? You can add borescope access points per data found in AC43.13-1B. And you wouldn't be the first mechanic to do so. While Cessna makes it easy to add additional access panels on their wings, the addition of a 1/2" inspection hole on a Piper to check the spar caps per 1006 is not out of your reach either.

It seems it’s usually easier to learn from others efforts with similar projects.

Know the best location(s) and number of ports is not in my “ trial & error”

category. Some folks mentioned putting it in the wing while others referred

to doing the mod inside the fuselage. I’ll see if I get any response from

folks that did this.

 

[Roger Wilco]

I bought a DeWalt powered screwdriver for removing inspection plate screws. I helps a lot removing them. I still tighten them with a reg screwdriver though.

I use an electric screwdriver to remove the screws. I also use it to install them by spinning them down almost flush, then I tighten them using a Capri torque screwdriver set to 11 in-lb (using nylon washers).

 

[Silvaire]

In most cases when there are two inspection panels it's because access to the area to be inspected is not shared between the two. As an IA if you wanted me to use a cheap videoscope I'd probably charge you double.

 

[Roger Wilco]

In most cases when there are two inspection panels it's because access to the area to be inspected is not shared between the two.

Agree.

As an IA if you wanted me to use a cheap videoscope I'd probably charge you double.

So, how expensive would the videoscope have to be in order to avoid a surcharge? Rhetorically speaking, of course.

 

[Silvaire]

Agree.

So, how expensive would the videoscope have to be in order to avoid a surcharge? Rhetorically speaking, of course.

Probably doesn't matter, a usual owner assist annual on something like a 172 is about 18 hours and the owner gets 9, maybe 10 hours labor credit for opening everything up (and other prep) so if you only open up half the stuff...

Seriously though the videoscopes are all pretty much the same. Although people like to use the term they are NOT borescopes which are normally in the "request a quote" price range.

 

[pfarber]

Most inspection panels never live up to their name lol

I use a 1080p 'scope all the time (it also has 180deg swing) over a mirror in many places. Although the best mirror I ever bought has LEDs so I don't have to try and get a flashlight in there also... it lights its own way.

One drawback of the 'scope is the limited focal length.