Tarmac Aerosave, specialist in aircraft and engine lifecycle management, and Donecle, a manufacturer of drones specifically for aviation maintenance purposes, have signed an agreement to develop automated aircraft inspections.
At the ongoing MRO Americas 2023, the two companies signed a partnership to develop drone-based fuselage and engine inspection solutions. Donecle, based in Toulouse, France, develops a range of automated solutions to optimise visual aircraft inspections. The Donecle system consists of a fully automatic flight - without a pilot or GPS - coupled to image analysis software and a secure platform for digital inspection monitoring.
Without being a substitute for maintenance procedures or mechanics, drones make it possible to carry out inspections in less than two hours - such as general visual inspections (GVI), lightning strike inspections, paintwork and regulatory marking inspections - thus making faster aircraft delivery to clients possible - whether on exit from storage or from maintenance.
A successful test campaign was conducted by the two partners on the Tarmac Aerosave site in Toulouse-Francazal. The solution is currently fully operational for narrow-body aircraft in hangars. Developments are now focusing on the capacity to carry out inspections outside and on wide-body aircraft.
