Aviation NDT Simulator: Practise in the Aircraft Hangar
The aircraft hangar is the aviation workplace in Atlantis Practical NDT: airframe and component inspection in a maintenance-hangar setting. Aviation is where inspection reliability has been measured most carefully, and the results make a strong case for structured, recorded practice between real jobs.
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What the hangar stages
- Eddy current on airframe structure and components; the catalogue's eddy current techniques include bolt-hole inspection of fastener holes.
- Penetrant inspection of components, timed stage by stage for each area of the surface.
- Ultrasonic and phased array jobs on airframe and component geometry.
- Visual inspection, with coverage earned from captured frames, and remote work with a borescope.
What aviation reliability studies found
Two FAA studies cited in the design of Practical NDT come from aviation. In a benchmark of visual inspection on a Boeing 737, individual inspectors found between 22 and 77 of the 117 cracks present. In an eddy current reliability experiment at nine airline facilities, the crack length detected with 90% probability was about two to three times larger for the poorest inspectors than for the best, and one or two of the most experienced inspectors scored worst. In both, the variable was the inspector, not the aircraft.
Rehearsal before the job
Aviation NDT is full of techniques used occasionally: a particular bolt-hole inspection, a component that comes round once a year. Skills decay without use, so the hangar is set up for refresher practice at the point of need: run the job at the independent level, with only the work order shown, before the real one. The learner record shows what was practised and how, which gives a supervisor evidence rather than an assurance.
Training hours, not experience
The FAA's advisory circular on training, qualification and certification of NDI personnel defines experience as work performed in the work environment and excludes classroom and laboratory training. Simulator time in the hangar is therefore training. It can sit inside the organised training your written practice allows, and it prepares you for the practical examination and for supervised work on aircraft; it does not replace either.
The same procedure for every inspector
Wide variation in detection between inspectors is the finding the aviation studies share, and the response built into Practical NDT is consistency: the same procedure, the same evidence rules and the same records for every trainee, whichever facility or shift they come from. That is implemented in every job; its effect on detection has not yet been measured. No study has yet linked simulator training in NDT to field probability of detection or error rates, and Atlantis has proposed a controlled evaluation, with blind real specimens and several operators per group, to measure it rather than assume it.
What the hangar jobs reference
The jobs follow the twelve-step training procedure with pinned revisions of the environment, specimen, procedure and equipment. Real aircraft inspection is carried out to the manufacturer's and operator's approved data under the employer's certification programme; the training report states that it is a training record only and that code acceptance is not evaluated. For the career route, see aviation NDT training and aerospace NDT training.
What a virtual hangar cannot reproduce
Real aircraft have paint, sealant, fasteners, access panels, stands and limited time on the ground; real instruments drift and real probes wear. The eddy current responses are computed from a teaching model, not from the structure of a particular aircraft. The hangar in the simulator builds the procedure and the habits; supervised work on aircraft builds the experience.
Frequently asked questions
Which methods can I practise in the aircraft hangar?
Eddy current (including bolt-hole), penetrant, ultrasonic and phased array, and visual inspection with a borescope, on airframe and component work.
Does hangar simulator time count as aviation NDI experience?
No. The FAA advisory circular on NDI personnel excludes classroom and laboratory training from experience. Simulator time is training.
Does simulator training improve probability of detection?
That has not been measured yet. The platform is built on mechanisms that simulation research in medicine and aviation supports, but no NDT study has linked simulator training to field probability of detection, and a controlled evaluation is proposed.
Can the hangar be used for refresher practice?
Yes. Run the job at the independent level, with only the work order shown, before a real inspection you have not done for a while.
Next steps
Practical NDT is a training simulation, not a validated engineering tool. It runs in a standard browser, works offline once downloaded, extends to standalone headsets and is integrated with the Atlantis LMS and ERP, so learners reach it from the client portal with one sign-in. Practice in it does not replace the practical examination or the experience hours your written practice requires.
Speak to an ASNT NDT Level III
Discuss your inspection requirements with Atlantis NDT. Include the asset, method, location and documents you need reviewed.