Patent ID: 8779943

Claim:
A method of monitoring the condition of structural components of an aircraft comprising: producing images of the structural component with at least a first camera and a second camera, the first and second cameras being mutually spaced; communicating the images to at least one computing unit; ascertaining the geometry data of a monitored region of the structural component from the images; ascertaining geometry deviations of discrete regions of the structural component from the comparison of the ascertained geometry data with a reference geometry data set; and ascertaining changes in shape of the structural component from the geometry deviations by the at least one computing unit, wherein the size of objectives of the first and second cameras and the spacing of the first and second cameras depend on the size of the monitored region of the structural component to be monitored, wherein the first camera looks onto a first external pivotable mirror and the second camera looks onto a second external pivotable mirror, wherein each of the first and second external mirrors is pivoted for continuously scanning a surface of the structural component and for enlarging the viewing angle of the first camera and the second camera.