The Eye Inside

Borescopes and videoscopes are providing increasing capabilities to users and can save time and money in the hangar.

The thing with borescopes is not so much what they do, but how they do it. Here is a look at the industry's latest and greatest ways to checkout what is going on inside the critical parts of the aircraft.

Perhaps the biggest news in the borescope industry today is the rapid growth of the videoscope market, which is providing increasing capabilities for people who need to get deep into large engines to find out what is or is not happening in there. But it is also creating two niche markets, one for the big guys and one for the little guys, according to Douglas Kinnard, president of Gradient Lens Corp., a Rochester, N.Y.-based manufacturer of rigid and flexible borescopes.

"The videoscopes are really taking over from fiberscopes in the majority of the market," he said. "But they are very expensive, in the $30,000 to $50,000 range. That's fine if you're a United Airlines, but not fine if you're a small MRO or FBO. A good fiberscope these days will only run you about $10-15 K."

Gradient Lens Corp.
That's one reason that Gradient Lens Corp. is so proud of its newest product, the HawkEye Pro Flexible. Just introduced this year, the latest member of the HawkEye line is a follow-on to the HawkEye Classic Flexible, but with more features such as a directional control and lock, and two-way articulated 240 degree remotely controlled tip.

"That scope has the same quality typically found in a $10,000 scope, but we're able to offer it for $5,500. So the hope is that we can reach the smaller FBOs working on smaller planes," Kinnard said. "We've already had some success selling that product to the helicopter market."

The lower price is made possible "because for several years now we've been selling the HawkEye Classic Flexible, which is a gooseneck version," he said. "We've had that on the market for several years and selling it in pretty high volume, hundreds annually. Those were mostly going to the manufacturers. So what we did was take all the optics from the Classic Flex and build them into a good quality articulating scope that can be used by the MROs. So we have economies of scale since the optics are identical. The two products look different on the outside, but things such as the lens and fiber optic bundles are all the same."

Gradient Lens has also introduced its new HawkEye Pro Slim and Pro Hardy rigid borescopes. The Pro Slim is a .165" diameter rigid product as a trade-off between small diameter and length versus bright illumination, while the Pro Hardy .250" diameter is a rugged borescope with twice the brightness of the Pro Slim.

Olympus Industrial America
As for the "big boys," both Olympus Industrial America and GE Inspection Technologies have come out with some pretty neat stuff in the videoscope world over the past year.

In one case, bigger does not mean better. Olympus introduced its new 4.4mm IPLEX MX, "the world's smallest videoscope utilizing LED lighting technology," as cited by Dave Menne, vice president of sales. "Users have been very impressed with how bright this system is, considering there are three very small LEDs providing the lighting. When you look at the distal end, they are so small it is difficult to see that there are individual LEDs."

Menne noted that the small 4.4mm diameter now gives the small turbine user an alternative to the older fiberscope technology, and because the system uses fewer components, such as power transformers, it is much more affordable than any previous videoscope system. Price of the MX is now in the $15,000 range, "which is well below the starting range of $20,000 of previous systems," Menne said.

The Orangeburg, New York.-based company has also introduced the wide dynamic range (WiDER) image processing in all of its IPLEX SA and SX series videoscopes as part of an advancement in videoscope technology to improve image brightness. "In previous models, the brightness of an image could only be adjusted across the entire CCD (charged coupled device)," Menne said. "Now, every pixel can be adjusted so that darker portions of an image can be brightened without blooming out the already bright areas. Users really appreciated this new feature of our videoscopes because it has an immediate affect on their ability to navigate in dark areas. Making tough decisions is also easier because the image is brighter and clearer."

Other innovations include the incorporation of a new technique called "sub-pixel placement" in the IPLEX II SA and SX models. This is designed to increase measurement accuracy, with the user able to choose a point to measure that is between two pixels. "Prior systems would pick the closest pixel, then perform the measurement," Menne said. "Now the space between each pixel is divided into five equal spaces, allowing the user to pick one of these spots as measurement point. The user simply zooms in on the area needed to be measured and picks the point of interest. The software does the rest."

GE Inspection Technologies
GE Inspection Technologies of Flanders, New Jersey, introduced its new Everest XLG3 videoborescope, newest member of the XL Pro Platform line, at this year's Farnborough Air Show. "The major difference in this scope is that it is a data management tool as opposed to just a data collection tool," said Edward Hubben, senior product manager.

"With traditional videoscopes, you roll them up to the edge and you might save a picture or image or video, then you're pretty much done with the scope. You then take that image on a card or some PC connection and put the image in a report or send it to somebody. With XLG3, the scope itself has many more capabilities to help you manage the data. You can write the report on board or you can write the data directly to a DVD since it has a real-time DVD/CD burner. That is a step people do with the video they have taken. They'll take it back to a PC, then burn it to a DVD. So we save that step. The system can also be connected to the internet or network to move data in real time."

The digital data is transmitted directly from the tarmac to quality control and maintenance for accurate decisions.

The XLG3 is a configurable product, with a price that ranges roughly from about $35,000 to $60,000, depending on what the buyer needs. "It's designed to let you buy the basic capabilities if that's all you need," Hubben said. "But if you would like to do DVD burning, the measurements, the networking and so forth, then you add it in. So you don't pay for more than you need."

Another major point of the new videoscope is that "it has the industry's first real interchangeable probe," Hubben said. "Right at the hand set, at the end of the insertion tube, we have a disconnect where you can take the probe out and then swap length and size. That is a big time saving feature."

Aqua Communications
Aqua Communications, located in Waltham, Massachusetts, is adding a new version of its successful SnakeEye and SnakeEye II portable video inspection tools, scheduled to be available later this year, according to Bill McCafferty, director of sales and marketing. "This newest version, SnakeEye III, will give the user the ability to record and play back both color images and voice to an 'on board' SD (secure digital) flash memory card," he said. This SD card can be read by most laptop and desktop computers, or the image can be transferred directly to the computer using the USB port.

In addition, a borescope and/or a fiberscope can be connected and will be able to utilize this same recording ability. SnakeEye III comes with an interchangeable camera head that can be attached to a flexible gooseneck, extension cables, telescoping poles and all the standard SnakeEye accessories to give the user the flexibility they need to complete their inspections. Although not yet introduced to the market, the SnakeEye III is expected to cost roughly in the $3,500 range, McCafferty said. "The SnakeEye III is also designed to meet the IP68 standard," he said.

Borescopes-R-Us
Borescopes-R-Us, based in Clarksville, Tennessee, introduced two new products this past summer, according to president Adrian Rodriguez. The first is the Video Fiberscope kit primarily aimed at smaller engines such as the PT6, PT7, CF34 and Allison 250, Rodriguez said.

This provides a high resolution, 525-line color image with focusing adapter and a combination light source and video processor with flip up display. Optional equipment includes a battery pack and video display that allows the kit to be shoulder carried. Cost is $4,995, "roughly half the cost of other fiberscopes with a video option," he said. "This kit is aimed at the smaller FBOs and MROs that need the video and recording capability but do not have the funds for the higher priced kits."

The second new product is a video scope kit designed for CF34 engine bleed air systems, "but lends itself to all other long distance inspection requirements. It is a one-button turn on device with a high resolution 5.5 inch diagonal display," he said. Cost is around $9,000. "Our first sale came from Embraer. We were showing it at their facility in Nashville and they wouldn't let me keep my sample after they tested it on a CF34 bleed air system for the engine cowling. They bought it on the spot and did an inspection the same day. It saved them $6,000 on parts and labor on the first inspection, and they are doing 2-3 inspections of the bleed air system every couple of weeks."

Karl Storz
The Karl Storz TechnoPack X, introduced late last year, has now been qualified and approved by the U.S. Air Force for borescope inspections, to include measurement.

The TechnoPack X is a complete RVI system that includes the LaserTrue measuring system with big screen SVGA monitor (see AM, September 2005, page 20).

The system can be rolled right to the flight line, with everything stored and connected in the case - ready for use. When the case is opened, the keyboard with mouse and SVGA big-screen monitor raise into position. Along with the monitor and keyboard, TechnoPack X now has the new CCU/light source processor, a range of inspection instruments, Pentium class processing, and a DVD Burner. USB and Ethernet capability offer unmatched digital information management capabilities. The TechnoPack X stores or exports up to 6 1/2 hours of live, MPEG digital video.

The Culver City, California-based company said that TechnoPack X is the first RVI system to incorporate a laser measuring system, which provides measurement on demand, with "no tip change" required. Just turn it, freeze and measure. Measurement is displayed on the screen and can be stored with the image or transferred to a desktop PC for initial measurement or re-measurement. All measurements are made on full-screen images with twice the resolution and size of traditional stereo images.

Pacific Borescope
Simi Valley, California-based Pacific Borescope has introduced a new low-cost "all around" use fiberscope, 8 mm by 2 meter length with LED light source, according to Dave Kammerer, technical sales for the company. The scope has a bendable "stay in position" design that "is great for airframe and piston engine applications," he said. Cost is $1,250. The new videoscope is model number FB0-8-200 for those who might be interested.

The company has also introduced a 6 mm by 1.5 meter "Chip in the Tip" videoscope kit with 24 watt metal halide light source, plus video/photo capture for display on a personal computer or laptop. Cost is $7,995, "the lowest price ever offered anywhere for a videoscope kit," Kammerer said. "This system is great for all aviation applications, including many turbine engines." He added, however, that the special aviation pricing is only good through December 31, 2006.

Pacific Borescope will be introducing a new smaller/portable handheld display, lighting and capture unit for all of its color video borescope, videoscope and fiberscope products this fall, with all special product offerings to be available this month (October) via http://www.pacificborescopes.com/AMMag_Special.htm, he said.

Lenox Instrument
Lenox introduced a new ValuFlex product this summer, an inexpensive flexible borescope especially good for fuselage type inspections on all aircraft, and general inspection of engines, according to Lennox vice president Bill Lang. "Price for a one-meter (tube) is $1,395, which is quite a remarkable price for a flexible product. It's a gooseneck so you can bend it and it will retain its shape," Lang said. The newest ValuFlex product actually comes in both one and two meter lengths, with an 8 mm diameter tube, a 50 degree field of view and an attachable threaded right angle mirror head.

The new ValuFlex boresight has high resolution achromatic optics, providing a color correct and sharply focused image that covers the entire field of view "edge-to-edge."

The company also has a new Swing Prism product in its line, "a moveable prism that is very suited to engine inspections," Lang said. The Swing Prism has a control on the handle that allows the prism position to be changed without having to withdraw it.

Titan Tool Supply
The Buffalo, N.Y.-based Titan Tool Company has introduced a new color CMOS UXGA (2.0 MegaPixel) camera "suitable for industrial imaging and microscopy applications," the company said. It incorporates a ½ in. 1600 X 1200 (UXGA) image array and an on-chip A/D converter capable of operating up to 10 frames per second (fps) with full resolution and 40 fps at SVGA (800X600) resolution. It uses a USB2.0 connector to transfer images to the user's computer, using "Plug and Play" software.