The Use of UAV with Infrared Camera and RFID for Airframe Condition Monitoring

The new progressive smart technologies announced in the fourth industrial revolution in aviation—Aviation 4.0—represent new possibilities and big challenges in aircraft maintenance processes. The main benefit of these technologies is the possibility to monitor, transfer, store, and analyze huge datasets. Based on analysis outputs, there is a possibility to improve current preventive maintenance processes and implement predictive maintenance processes. These solutions lower the downtime, save manpower, and extend the components’ lifetime; thus, the maximum effectivity and safety is achieved. The article deals with the possible implementation of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with an infrared camera and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) as two of the smart hangar technologies for airframe condition monitoring. The presented implementations of smart technologies follow up the specific results of a case study focused on trainer aircraft failure monitoring and its impact on maintenance strategy changes. The case study failure indexes show the critical parts of aircraft that are subjected to damage the most. The aim of the article was to justify the need for thorough monitoring of critical parts of the aircraft and then analyze and propose a more effective and the most suitable form of technical condition monitoring of aircraft critical parts. The article describes the whole process of visual inspection performed by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with an IR camera and its related processes; in addition, it covers the possible usage of RFID tags as a labeling tool supporting the visual inspection. The implementations criteria apply to the repair and overhaul small aircraft maintenance organization, and later, it can also increase operational efficiency. The final suggestions describe the possible usage of proposed solutions, their main benefits, and also the limitations of their implementations in maintenance of trainer aircraft.