Advanced scopes give engine mechanics an edge

  • Published
  • By Amy Welch
  • Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. (AFPN) --  New digital borescopes are allowing mechanics here to more efficiently and accurately inspect aircraft engines getting aircraft back in warfighters' hands quicker.

The fiber-optic borescopes detect, measure and retrieve damaging foreign debris from inside aircraft engines. This allows Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center maintainers to "prevent potential crashes and return engines for re-work as well as provide a better product" to warfighters, said Col. James Diehl, engine production division chief.

Tinker officials purchased seven complete borescope systems so workers in the engine final-preparation facility can more thoroughly examine "every nook and cranny" inside each engine that comes through the depot, Diehl said.

"Obviously, the quality of any inspection is based on the quality of the inspection equipment," said Diehl. "These will make sure highly reliable engines are made available and directly contribute to flight safety."

Tinker mechanics said it is like a night and day difference from the old inspection methods.

"Now we have defect identification which gives us better quality inspections," said Marilee McKnight, a supervisor General Electric engines in the maintenance directorate. "Instead of taking three hours to determine the problem, we can immediately make the call and go about fixing it, which increases our productivity exponentially."

Mechanics in McKnight's division agree.

"The color definition on this new one makes a huge difference," said Randolph Harris, an inspector and mechanic. "This one will do everything the old one did, but it will also go a thousand miles further."

Harris said the new equipment works much like a high-end digital camera. It is able to zoom, take still and moving pictures, plus the operator can add text or audio commentary, adjust color brightness, and take digital measurements.

Harris said one aspect of his job is inspecting 90 engine blades daily to make sure the cooling holes on the end are not clogged. Each is a little more than one inch long.

On the old equipment, he said, it was hard to determine if the holes were actually clogged or if they simply looked smudged on the monitor.

"Now, I can say, 'This blade is safe to put on a motor,'" Harris said. "That's a judgment call on the old equipment whereas now I'm much more confident."

Diehl said the technicians are excited about the high-quality detection they can do.

"They can do their jobs better and, more importantly, do their jobs faster," he said.

Before purchasing the new borescopes, the equipment had to be researched.

"You can almost compare borescopes, in terms of capabilities, to that of a personal computer," said 1st Lt. Wes Adams, logistics deputy chief. "In the last several years, the technology has just grown by leaps and bounds. With the machines we have now, we're capable of doing things that were unheard of at the time of our previous borescope purchase."

Adams said the new borescopes can also benefit mechanics worldwide because of the equipment's digital capabilities.

"I could theoretically have a Navy engine with a crack on it somewhere in the middle of the Persian Gulf," said Adams. "If they have the right software, they can use the new borescope, take a picture and e-mail a digital image to an engineer at Tinker. We can tell them from here if it needs to be fixed without sending an engineer out there."

According to Adams, the benefit to warfighters is immeasurable.

"We don't ever want to give the warfighter an inferior product. These borescopes allow us to detect damage that may otherwise go unnoticed by the naked eye," he said. (Courtesy of Air Force Materiel Command News Service)