Thunderstorms need three elements to form. They are synonymous with heavy rain, hail and severe turbulence. It’s estimated that there are around 40,000 thunderstorms around the world in a given 24-hour period. The king of weather phenomena, cumulonimbus clouds, referred to as "CBs" in pilot chat, should never be taken lightly. Not only does this give it the strength it needs to withstand the worst the external environment can throw at it, but it also makes it light enough to help keep the weight of the aircraft to a minimum, reducing fuel usage and as a result, carbon emissions. The three-layer structure as described above means that they can withstand the impact of a large seagull at 400 miles per hour.Īltogether, the windshield is around 1.5 inches thick. To give the windshield added strength, there is another even thicker layer of stretched-acrylic as the base layer.Īircraft windshields are designed to take a serious beating, be it from birds or hailstones. In fact, when sat on the ground in rain, we often see steam coming off the windshield. With this warmed up, water does not freeze on the windshield. When an electrical current is applied to this layer it heats up, warming the outer glass. To overcome this problem, there is a thin layer of a transparent electrically conductive substance between the outer glass and the stretched acrylic. However, covering the flight deck windows in wires would drastically reduce our visibility. The rear windscreen of your car is heated by a grid of wires to get rid of any early morning frost. When a windshield at that temperature comes into contact with moisture in the form of rain or clouds, it will immediately get covered in ice. (Image courtesy of PPG)Īt cruising level, the temperature outside can be as cold as -90 degrees Fahrenheit.
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March 2023
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