Performs Full Spectrum of Vital Non-Destructive Testing Inspections
ABBOTSFORD, CANADA (November 15, 2024) – Conair Group Inc. (Conair) has expanded the inhouse ability to perform Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) on their aerial firefighting aircraft maintained in Canada, a fleet of over 55 planes. This expansion mitigates the need to rely on third party providers, further enabling the company the ability to schedule and complete inspections between fire season contract periods, ensuring bird dog lead planes, airtankers and water scoopers are available to government agencies when needed.
Non-Destructive Testing is an essential component to safety and sustainability within aerial firefighting as aircraft fly in dynamic environments that challenge airframes, facing heat, repeated changes in altitude, and turbulent conditions, as well as dramatic changes in weight during flight due to water and retardant drops.
A thorough NDT inspection of a large airtanker, such as a Dash 8-400AT, requires one to two weeks of dedicated time to complete, including Eddy Current analysis, both conventional and Eddy Current array, on wings, fuselage skin and the interior. The NDT team and Engineering teams at Conair work collaboratively to enhance inspection requirements.
“NDT is split into surface and sub surface techniques. Conair is now fully equipped to support the fleet using both technique types, performing inspections utilizing Eddy Current, Ultrasonic, Liquid Penetrant, and Magnetic Particle testing” shares Alfred Modino, Conair’s Component Shop Level 3 NDT Technician. “We have six accredited NDT technicians within our shop, and a two-person team dedicated to executing inspections, performed to OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) standards.” All Conair-converted airtankers are fully supported by OEMs following OEM guidelines to maintain airworthiness specific to aerial firefighting missions.
“In the future, we plan to develop the NDT program further, performing inspections on our US subsidiary’s fleet, located at Aero-Flite in Washington state. And we are investigating adding Digital X-Ray capability” continues Modino.
This essential service is necessary to secure continued airworthiness of the aerial firefighting fleet, ensuring safe missions and ongoing response. Each Conair aircraft undergoes a thorough period of heavy maintenance once a fire season contract with a government agency has closed, typically taking four to six weeks to complete, performed to the highest standards in the industry.
