PPG Aerospace – Transparencies provides operators of airplanes produced by The Boeing Company with a variety of solutions for their cockpit windows to meet operating requirements. As the sole manufacturer of original-equipment cockpit windows for 787 airplanes, PPG is the only supplier able to provide the latest enhancements for replacement windshields and side cockpit windows.
The B787 glass faced acrylic design features chemically strengthened glass as the face ply, stretched acrylic as the structural ply, advanced urethane technology, and ant-ice/anti-fog coatings. This design takes advantage of the high damage tolerance of Herculite® II for face ply applications and of stretched acrylic for strength to produce a lightweight cockpit window. Herculite® II is extensively used in commercial, regional, and general aviation aircraft. Herculite® II offers exceptional strength, excellent optical characteristics, and high strength to weight ratio compared to thermally tempered glass.
It is used in transparency systems where designs require high strength to weight ratio, high performance, and long service life. It offers greater damage tolerance and scratch resistance as a result of its high surface hardness, allowing it to be used as an outboard glass ply. Additionally, the unique properties of Herculite® II chemically strengthened glass allow lightweight cockpit windows to be designed for structural, load bearing applications. For these applications, aircraft loads are transferred through the cockpit window, thus allowing for reduced weight in the fuselage structure.
Since its introduction, Herculite® II chemically strengthened glass has been field proven in all cockpit window applications for both structural and nonstructural applications. Herculite® II is used on other commercial aircraft, including the B757, B767, and B777. |