What Materials Are Used to Construct Aircraft Windshields?

The cockpit windshield is an essential element of most aircraft, allowing pilots to establish visuals outside of the vehicle for the means of flight management, safety, and more. As many may know, conditions at the altitudes that aircraft fly at are often harsh, many assemblies facing forces and stresses that range from pressure differences to extreme temperatures. While the windows lining the cabin are constructed with rigorous materials to reliably withstand a variety of stressors, aircraft windshield assemblies are much more robust and complex in their design, as a result of their increased demands and the fact that they face more risks, such as impacts. As such, one may wonder how aircraft windshields are designed. In this blog, we will briefly discuss the construction of the aircraft windshield, allowing you to have a better understanding of their materials and capabilities.

While the cabin windows of a standard commercial aircraft are constructed with three panes of stretched acrylic, flight deck windshields utilize glass-faced acrylic that serves as an outer layer. This layer is also bound to a stretched acrylic pane, and between these two layers is a layer made from urethane. While visibility out of cabin windows is not always paramount, it is crucial that pilots have the ability to see out of the aircraft windshield whenever necessary. As such, each layer will be fitted with anti-ice and anti-fog systems that ensure clarity, regardless of weather and other factors.

For large aircraft such as the Boeing 737 and 747, there may also be hardened glass plies that have been tempered and placed alongside an interlayer. This is somewhat of a legacy design as the Boeing 787 features a lighter variation with a temperate glass ply on the exterior of the assembly. Additionally, this aircraft model also features layers of stretched acrylic that, while similar to cabin windows in design, are much thicker. While this feature is common to the Boeing 787, it may also be found in other aircraft, as well with varying thicknesses.

While things like fog can deter visibility, a more detrimental condition is having a buildup of frost over the exterior pane of the windshield. To combat the collection of freezing moisture, many windshields will have a coating of indium tin oxide between layers which acts as a conductive material capable of transmitting heat. This gives the windshield a slightly oily look with a sheen running across the assembly. While this is the most common method in the present, older models may have thin wires that conduct heat, similar to those found on many automobile rear windows.

Aside from issues as a result of weather, aircraft windshields must also have ample protection against the threat posed by bird strikes. When traveling at high speeds, birds can potentially hit the windshield with great force, presenting a risk of cracks or shattering. To completely avoid this hazard, manufacturers rigorously test windshields during the design phase to ensure that they meet US federal standards which state that panes must be able to withstand an impact of a four-pound bird at a speed of 340 knots.

With a better understanding of windshield design, you can see how they are made to be rigorous, reliable, and strong for the safety and benefit of flight operations. Here on Aircraft Aftermarket Parts, we provide customers access to over 2 billion new, used, obsolete, and hard-to-find items that have been shipped from leading manufacturers that we trust. As our team members are readily available around the clock for our customers, we would be more than happy to assist you however we can to ensure that all your needs are met. If you have any questions or simply would like to speak with a member of our staff, give us a call or email at your earliest convenience.