PPG Aerospace launches OPTICOR
Company shows new transparent plastic for aircraft windows at the Paris Air Show
PPG Industries aerospace transparencies group is launching the brand name of its craze-resistant, high-performance aerospace transparency material at the Paris Air Show.
OPTICOR advanced transparency material by PPG Aerospace is the first new transparent plastic for aerospace applications, according to Anthony Stone, global director for new business development and innovations for transparencies.
“Opticor advanced transparency material meets the aerospace industry’s needs for a lightweight transparent plastic that maintains optical clarity while offering the ability to be formed into complex shapes,” Stone said. “We expect it to replace stretched acrylic for passenger-cabin windows because it weighs less and has better craze and fire resistance, and it will be used in cockpit windows because it is an excellent substrate for metallic and nonmetallic coatings.”
“As both the window fabricator and the manufacturer of the plastic with which the windows are made, we will be better able to
control quality as well as supply,” Stone said.
Opticor advanced transparency material has been selected by Gulfstream for the outboard surface of the passenger-cabin windows in the new G650 business jet, Stone said. The advanced transparency material has successfully met the requirements of Federal Aviation Administration qualification testing in support of the aircraft type certificate. PPG is displaying a G650 cabin window at its booth during the Paris Air Show.
