ETW Staff – Mumbai
Following a comprehensive three-year design and certification programme with Airbus, GKN Aerospace has qualified a new, 10 per cent lighter, higher performance, main pilot (No 1) windshield for the Airbus single aisle aircraft family (A318/ A319/ A320/ A321).
GKN Aerospace achieved the 10 per cent weight saving by manufacturing the window from chemically-toughened CE120 glass, replacing the heavier, thermally-toughened glass of previous generations of the window. The company has also incorporated modifications to the detailed design of the windshield that will extend its performance and simplify its manufacture. The new windshield will be fully interchangeable with existing windshields making it available to operators of all Airbus single aisle aircraft – over 6000 of which have been manufactured to date.
In addition, by combining this new windshield with the company’s established No 2 and No 3 cockpit windows, GKN Aerospace can now offer, from a single source, the lightest complete cockpit window set on the market for single aisle aircraft.
Gavin Wesson, senior vice president, GKN Aerospace Special Products Group, said, “Our transparencies team has developed this window through a collaborative and highly productive development and qualification programme with Airbus. We are proud to be a part of the A320 family success story and the new GKN Aerospace windshield delivers real weight savings and performance benefits to Airbus customers.”