United States. A major airline is evaluating a hydrophobic coating developed for the cabin windows of its aircraft. At the Farnborough airshow in July, GKN Aerospace announced the development of this revolutionary technology and the fact that Airbus was flying the coating on its test aircraft. The tests carried out by one of the main airlines are the next step in the evaluation process of this innovative technology.
The hydrophobic coating for cabin windows was developed at its transparencies center of excellence in Garden Grove, USA. Permanent surface treatment provides rain spillage in flight and/or on the ground and significantly improves surface abrasion resistance.
Test results indicate that surface treatment is more durable for cleaning damage and scratches than untreated glass, which in turn significantly reduces the removal of scratch-related windows or abrasion.
GKN Aerospace's new technology is a permanent solution that should only be applied once in the life of a window rather than existing temporary solutions that require repeated application every six to eight months, depending on flight hours and conditions.
Gavin Wesson, CEO of aerospace specialty products company GKN explains: "Our new hydrophobic technology proves to be a unique solution that perfectly matches our customers' demand for transparencies for less maintenance and less weight and costs. This technology could potentially eliminate the need for windshield wipers in cab windows. It is fantastic that we can further evaluate this innovative product together with Airbus and one of the global airline operators."
Source: GKN Aerospace.
