8tree
8tree builds 3D inspection tools for aircraft maintenance and manufacturing. Its best-known product, the dentCHECK dent scanner, is recognised by Airbus, Boeing and Embraer, and its users include British Airways, Vueling, Transavia and HAECO.
Founded in 2012, the company has 11 to 50 staff split between California and Constance, Germany, where it runs the ISO 17025-accredited laboratory that calibrates its scanners. Beyond dent mapping, the same approach covers fastener flushness on production lines, step height between panels, and a drone-mounted version built with Donecle that has so far been trialled on French military aircraft, with no commercial airline use confirmed.
British Airways has used 8tree since 2017 and added three more tools in February 2026, the clearest sign of repeat business in the evidence. The headline claims, inspections up to 90 per cent faster and results 20 times more accurate than manual methods, are 8tree's own and have been repeated by customers; the register holds no independent measurement of either.
Products & Solutions
5 productsdentCHECK
dentCHECK is a handheld, wireless, battery-powered 3D dent-mapping tool purpose-built for aviation maintenance. It uses Augmented Reality (AR) to project measurement results directly onto the aircraft surface in real time, delivering SRM-compliant digital damage reports at the push of a button.
Aircraft dent inspection has historically relied on manual tools such as depth gauges and ruler templates. Results vary significantly between technicians and are difficult to audit or reproduce. dentCHECK addresses this by replacing manual measurement with a standardised 3D AR process that produces consistent, SRM-compliant digital records regardless of the operator.
- Measures dents, bumps, blend-outs, and lightning strikes on metallic, composite, curved, and flat surfaces with 1-Click operation
- Projects measurement results directly onto the aircraft surface in real time using Augmented Reality (AR)
- Delivers SRM-compliant go/no-go answers including dent depth (Y), width (A), length (B), and critical A/Y ratio within seconds
- Fully handheld, wireless, and battery-powered with no external cables, computers, or power source required
7 more features
- Built-in LTE and WiFi connectivity for plane-side reporting on iPad or laptop and upload to cloud repository
- panoLite feature enables large-area dent mapping, detecting and measuring multiple dents on areas up to 2 meters wide
- Damage Reporting Tool (DRT) stitches multiple scans into a single unified panoramic view for SRM-compliant multi-dent reports
- Acquisition time of approximately 0.1 seconds enables true handheld operation
- Measurement speed as fast as 2 seconds per scan
- Battery life up to 4.5 hours, usable while recharging
- Works on metal, composite, and wet/rainy surfaces without surface preparation
Technical specifications (14)
- Field of View (FoV): 18 x 32 cm (7 x 12.5 inches)
- Depth resolution: 25 µm (0.001 inches)
- Diameter resolution: 250 µm (0.01 inches)
- Depth accuracy: ±50 µm / ±0.002 inches at 95% (2σ) confidence interval
- Diameter accuracy: ±1.0 mm / 0.04 inches at 95% (2σ) confidence interval
- Nominal working distance: 50 ± 5 cm (20 ± 2 inches)
- Weight: 4 kg / 8.8 lbs with integrated CPU and battery
- Dimensions: 35.4 x 30.0 x 9.0 cm (13.9 x 11.8 x 3.6 inches)
- Calibrated at 8tree's ISO 17025-accredited calibration facility in Constance, Germany (DAkkS accreditation D-K-21981-01-00)
- Approved in Airbus Tool Equipment Bulletins (TEB No: 320-A3497, 300-A3327, 340-A3505, 380-A3351) and Tool Equipment Manuals
- Recommended by Boeing for all 7x7, MD, and DC series aircraft (Boeing Service Letter compliant)
- Recommended by Bombardier for all Q400/Dash-8 aircraft (NDTM compliant)
- Recognized by Embraer (NTO recognized)
- dentCHECK-as-a-Service (daaS) program available through global certified service partner network
- ISO/IEC 17025 calibration accreditation from Deutsche Akkreditierungsstelle (DAkkS), accreditation number D-K-21981-01-00, Constance, Germany
- Airbus OEM approval: listed in Airbus Tool Equipment Bulletins (TEB) and Tool Equipment Manuals (TEM) for all A3XX aircraft types
- Boeing OEM endorsement: recommended for all 7x7, MD, and DC series aircraft via Boeing Service Letter
- Bombardier OEM recognition: recommended for all Q400/Dash-8 aircraft (NDTM compliant)
- Embraer OEM recognition: NTO recognized
Delta Air Lines (2018) · easyJet (2017) · Allegiant Air (2019) · TAP Air Portugal MRO (2016) · Kalitta Air (2022) · HAECO Group (2022) · Panasonic Avionics Corporation (2022) · American Airlines · Lufthansa Technik · Swiss International Air Lines (2024) · Austrian Airlines (2024) · Endeavor Air (2024) · Boeing 787 production (North Charleston) (2024) · FL Technics (2025) · Transavia (2025) · Embraer Services Nashville (2025) · Royal Canadian Air Force, Squadron 435 (2025) · Vueling Airlines (2025) · British Airways (2025) · Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (2022) · KF Aerospace (2022) · Horizon Air · Commercial Jet (2025) · Velocity Maintenance Solutions (2025)
Customers and sites the vendor lists for this product. Aerostack has not verified these unless a deployment record is linked above.
Product documentationIRIS dentCHECK
IRIS dentCHECK is an automated drone-based version of 8tree's dentCHECK 3D surface inspection technology, developed in collaboration with French UAV company Donecle.
Inspecting the upper surfaces of an aircraft requires access platforms, scaffolding, or elevated work equipment. This is time-consuming and carries working-at-height risk. IRIS dentCHECK uses a drone to automate this inspection, removing the need for physical access equipment.
- Autonomous drone-based 3D dent detection and measurement, no human operators working at height
- Integrates 8tree's dentCHECK 3D sensor onboard a Donecle Iris drone for fully automated unmanned dent inspection
- Detects and measures dents to 0.1 mm depth accuracy during autonomous flight
- Scanning speed of 2 m² per minute
7 more features
- Inspects top fuselage, wings, flaps, slats, radome, and doors
- Inspection time of 30 minutes per wing on narrowbody aircraft (A320, B737)
- Full inspection of both wings on an A320-class aircraft in approximately 60 minutes
- 300 times faster than manual dent inspection methods
- End-to-end digitalized inspection workflow with automated dent mapping and digital reporting
- Validated in military sector on the Rafale fighter aircraft through 18-month collaborative program with Dassault and French Defence Innovation Agency
- Completed a year-long field trial for inspecting French military aircraft
Technical specifications (8)
- Depth accuracy: 0.1 mm
- Scanning speed: 2 m² per minute
- Wing inspection time: 30 minutes per wing for narrowbody aircraft (B737, A320 class)
- Both wings on an A320: approximately 60 minutes total
- 25x more consistent in measuring depth than manual methods
- 100% automated inspection and dent-mapping workflow
- Designed for non-destructive testing (NDT)
- Deployed on Donecle Iris drone platform
- Inherits dentCHECK sensor ISO 17025 calibration accreditation (DAkkS, D-K-21981-01-00) from 8tree facility in Constance, Germany
- Validated in military sector on Rafale aircraft through collaboration with Dassault and French Defence Innovation Agency
French Defense Innovation Agency (DGA) (2021) · Donecle (2024)
Customers and sites the vendor lists for this product. Aerostack has not verified these unless a deployment record is linked above.
Product documentationfastCHECK
fastCHECK is 8tree's handheld, point-and-click fastener and rivet flushness inspection tool, purpose-built for aerospace OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers. It is used on aircraft assembly lines to measure fastener flushness and angle, providing real-time visual feedback to assembly and quality assurance technicians.
Manual fastener flushness measurement during aircraft assembly is slow, inconsistent between operators, and difficult to record digitally. fastCHECK replaces hand tools with a point-and-click handheld 3D scanner that produces immediate, repeatable, digitally-captured flushness and angle readings on the assembly line.
stepCHECK
stepCHECK is an 8tree handheld 3D inspection tool that measures step height, parallelism, and flushness finish between adjacent aircraft surfaces. Like other 8tree tools, it uses Augmented Reality (AR) reprojection to display measurement results directly on the inspected surface.
Verifying step height, gap and flushness between adjacent panels and surfaces traditionally requires feeler gauges, depth micrometers and operator interpretation. stepCHECK automates these checks with a 3D scan that produces standardised, GD&T-compliant measurements with AR-reprojected results for the operator.
dentCHECK-as-a-Service (daaS)
dentCHECK-as-a-Service (daaS) is 8tree's on-demand airframe dent-mapping service, delivered through a global network of 8tree-certified service partners (including AMROS Global, VS Aviation, and Panasonic Avionics).
Operators with infrequent dent-mapping needs cannot easily justify the capital cost of buying and maintaining a dentCHECK system. dentCHECK-as-a-Service makes the same SRM-compliant 3D AR dent inspection capability available on demand through certified service partners, on a per-event basis.
AMROS Global · VS Aviation · Panasonic Avionics Corporation
Customers and sites the vendor lists for this product. Aerostack has not verified these unless a deployment record is linked above.
Profile data from the Aerostack companies register; deployment records from the verified register. Evidence grades: T1 first-party confirmation, T2 credible reporting. See Our approach for how records are graded.