Ultrasonic systems and methods for inspecting a channel member through a
skin or panel are provided. The channel member may be a stiffener for an
aircraft component such as a trapezoidal stringer attached to a skin of
an aircraft fuselage. Transducers of the system are disposed on a side of
the skin opposite the channel member. Ultrasonic waves generated on a
first side of a skin propagate through the skin, across a channel member
attached to a second side of the skin, and through the skin again to be
received on the first side of the skin. Times of flight are measured for
the collection of time-gated data. A two dimensional C-scan is generated
for identifying flaws and irregularities in a structure by way of
single-side ultrasonic non-destructive inspection (NDI).