On The Fly

Using Drones For Aircraft Inspections.

- Robin Evans

In a hangar outside of London, England, I’m witnessing something that, as a pilot, I hadn’t anticipated: a collaboration of drone and airliner. Recently returned from Reykjavik is Airbus A319 Fox Hotel for servicing; working autonomously around it is a heavily modified DJI Matrice. The former is a short-haul mainstay—designed, tested, and worked hard; the latter is here for the same treatment.

MAINTENANCE—SCHEDULED AND UNSCHEDULED

Before every flight and service, pilots or engineers will walk around the aircraft looking for external damage; it’s known as a general visual inspection (GVI). Imagine checking every light, tire, and panel on your car before every turn of the ignition. Aircraft accumulate occasional dents and scrapes around cabin doors and cargo hatches, rubbed daily by air bridges, steps, and loading equipment. Birds struck at landing speed as well as hailstones and lightning strikes may cause visible dents and burns. All need assessment for treatment, according to severity and location, before the aircraft can return to service. Build quality is excellent and much is cosmetic, but nothing is left to chance.

A GVI of the lower fuselage can be made quickly on foot, but the upper surface will require a crew roped into a cherry picker, inching along the fuselage. How to quantify and prioritize unexpected damage over a huge fleet? Could the aircraft be surveyed more quickly? How can personnel safety be ensured in wintry conditions atop a 12m tail? How can additional, accidental damage be avoided?

Collaboration