Gulfstream has selected PPG Industries to supply windshields, side cockpit windows and passenger cabin window assemblies for its new G500 and G600 business jets.
PPG equipment has already been proven on the ultra-long-range G650, which entered service more than two years ago. PPG’s transparencies are also fitted on a number of other Gulfstream jets, including the G150, G550 and out-of-production GV.
“PPG’s transparencies have a demonstrated history of performance,” says PPG global platform manager for general aviation transparencies, Mark Hood.
The passenger cabin windows and side cockpit windows are designed to meet higher cabin pressure with less deflection, providing aerodynamic benefits and weight savings that will contribute to a quieter, smoother flight and better fuel efficiency, says Huntsville, Alabama-based PPG.
Hood says acoustic tests of the cabin windows showed they reduced sound transmission by about 20% more than the windows for the GV business jet, while being 16% larger. Additionally, the new cabin window assemblies will have about one-fourth as many parts, reducing assembly time by more than half.
The heated glass windshields will have a water-repellent coating as the primary rain removal system, enabling Gulfstream to certificate the large-cabin long-range twinjets without windshield wipers, reducing related drag and weight.
Gulfstream unveiled the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW800-powered G500 and G600 in October. The clean sheet duo are earmarked for certification in 2017 and 2019, respectively.
Source: Flight International
