The Future of Aircraft Maintenance

Using Drones for Commercial Aircraft Inspection

Gavin Goudie Blue Bear Systems Research & MRO Drone Ltd

▪ MRO Drone - a joint venture between Blue Bear and Output42

▪ Respective knowledge in drone design, image processing, automation and mobile web and

desktop applications for Global Airlines and Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO)

organisations

▪ Our vision is to produce innovative, integrated hardware and software tools to allow

Airlines and MRO organisations to conduct engineering inspections safely and efficiently

Company Background

▪ Serviceability issues caused by▪ Lightning strikes

▪ Hailstone impact

▪ FOD (Foreign Object Damage)

▪ Operational Damage (air bridge, supply vehicles etc.)

▪ Requiring inspection at base or remote locations▪ Often hard to reach - Inspection will likely involve use of gantries, mobile work platforms and staging

▪ On site expertise not always available

▪ Repair will be difficult away from a MRO facility

▪ Aircraft will be offline (1/2 day or longer)

▪ Data Collation & Dissemination ▪ The more data you have the harder it can be to share or use effectively

Aircraft Inspection Requirements & Challenges

Typical Damage

Insp

ection

/ Detectio

n D

ifficulty

New MRO Technologies Survey 2015

© Oliver Wyman Source: Oliver Wyman’s 2015 MRO Survey

▪ Provides the capability of automated aircraft damage inspection and integrated

reporting systems

▪ Facilitates a new method of aircraft inspection for both scheduled and unscheduled

maintenance purposes

▪ The data captured is more easily collated and disseminated within an airline via

reporting systems

Aircraft Inspection Using Drone Technology – Why?

▪ Aircraft on Ground downtime is the predominant cost factor for an operator

Reducing ‘AOG’

Drone Inspection System

Traditional Inspection Methods

RAPID - Remote Automated Plane Inspection & Dissemination

Hi Speed Datalink Inspection Sensors

Rotor Protection

Automated Flight Control System

Navigation System – Indoor & Outdoor Capability

Simple Operation

Example Data

Example Data

Example Data

Offline Inspection & Damage Reporting

▪ Drone technology has a huge potential now and in the future for aircraft inspection applications

▪ Provides significantly faster inspection and assessment of damage

▪ Reduces ‘AOG’ time by up to 90%

▪ Augments the role of the aircraft engineer

▪ Introduces measurable efficiencies across the industry

▪ Automated damage detection and reporting is possible and will benefit from the development of

novel sensor technologies

▪ It is another tool in the engineers toolbox – not a replacement!

Drone Inspection Benefits

New MRO Technologies Survey 2017

© Oliver Wyman Source: Oliver Wyman 2017 MRO Survey

Joining it all together