Borescope vs old school mirror on a PW100, night and day difference

Spent Tuesday down in Tulsa on an engine that was supposedly fine but had a weird oil smell. Pulled out my old mirror and flashlight for the hot section and I could barely see a thing, maybe a hint of a stain. Boss handed me his cheap borescope and we found a cracked combustion liner right away, clear as day and it was way back where I was squinting for 20 minutes. That mirror method was fine for compressor blades in school but it ain't cutting it on modern cans. Do you guys all carry scopes now or am I the last dinosaur still trying to save the shop some cash?

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nathan28916d ago

Bought my first cheap scope three years ago after missing a cracked vane that cost us a second teardown. That mirror trick is fine for seeing what's right in front of you, but once you're trying to look around a bend or past a fuel nozzle, you're basically guessing. Even a $150 scope with a decent light beats a mirror for finding stuff that's hidden, especially on those PW cans where the liner sits deep. I still keep a mirror in the box for quick checks on accessible parts, but for anything hot section related it's scope first now. The money you save on not pulling engines twice pays for a decent one real fast.

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