Aircraft NDT inspection,
documented for return to service.
Eddy current · dye penetrant · magnetic particle · ultrasound · visual · Rockwell hardness
Find flaws without tearing the aircraft apart.
Roger Wilco Aviation Services provides aircraft non-destructive testing for owners, operators, mechanics, and shops that need a disciplined inspection path without unnecessary disassembly. NDT is used when the question is specific: is there a crack, corrosion, heat damage, material change, or other defect that cannot be answered well by a normal visual inspection alone?
From Chan Gurney Municipal Airport in Yankton, South Dakota, RWAS supports general aviation, corporate, and commercial operators across the Northern Plains. Work is handled through an FAA-certificated Part 145 repair station environment, with method selection, inspection scope, findings, and return-to-service documentation matched to the aircraft, component, maintenance manual, service bulletin, Airworthiness Directive, or approved data involved.
The right test for the right material.
A useful NDT inspection begins with the suspected failure mode. Aluminum skins, ferrous steel parts, castings, welded assemblies, engine components, and propeller-related hardware do not all ask the same question. RWAS selects the inspection method around material, geometry, access, surface condition, and the controlling maintenance instruction.
Eddy Current Testing
Crack and corrosion detection in conductive materials, including aluminum structures.
Dye Penetrant Testing
Surface-breaking defect detection on nonporous materials, including ASTM E1417-style process requirements when applicable.
Magnetic Particle Inspection
Surface and near-surface discontinuity checks in ferromagnetic components.
Ultrasound Testing
Thickness, discontinuity, or internal-condition checks where ultrasonic methods are appropriate.
Visual Testing
Structured visual inspection with proper access, lighting, magnification, and documentation.
Rockwell Hardness Testing
Material-condition support where hardness verification is part of the maintenance question.
Common aircraft NDT use cases.
Aircraft owners usually do not ask for NDT because everything is normal. They ask because a mechanic found a suspect indication, an inspection note requires a deeper look, a service bulletin points to a known trouble area, or an aircraft is being evaluated before purchase. In those moments, a clean inspection report matters as much as the inspection itself.
RWAS can support crack checks around stress points, corrosion investigation, inspection of repaired or worked areas, propeller and engine-component questions, magnetic particle inspection of applicable steel parts, dye penetrant checks on accessible nonporous surfaces, and eddy current inspection where conductivity and geometry make it the right tool. If a method is not appropriate for the component or controlling data, the shop will say so before turning the inspection into an invoice.
Inspection results have to be usable later.
The end product is not just a pass-or-fail conversation at the counter. RWAS documents the inspection method, scope, relevant references, findings, and limitations so the owner, mechanic, IA, or operator can understand what was inspected and what was not. Where applicable, work can be documented for FAA Form 8130-3 return to service and Airworthiness Directive compliance support.
For operators managing scheduled maintenance, pre-buy inspections, insurance questions, or recurring inspections, that traceability is the point. It keeps the next decision grounded in actual evidence instead of memory, guesswork, or a shop note that makes sense only to the person who wrote it.
Send the aircraft, component, and reason for inspection.
To scope an NDT inspection, include the aircraft make and model, N-number, component or area to be inspected, the reason for the inspection, and any maintenance manual, service bulletin, AD, or prior finding that triggered the request. Photos help. If the work needs to coordinate with an annual, pre-buy, avionics project, or structural repair, say that up front so the inspection can be scheduled around the larger maintenance plan.