Lexan.....The Miracle Plastic?

[lakespookie]

My understanding is that the difference in material is primarily to prevent ingress of foreign bodies into the cockpit in the case of a stone, small bird etc striking the windscreen.

[Kai]

Yup!

I’ve been reading!

My understanding is now that it is definitely risky to introduce Plexi/acrylic sheet as a material for the windshield. There’s just not enough impact resistance in the unlikely event that you have a birdstrike. By all means- safety first!

Having said that, I actually once had a bird strike during my soaring days: a starling or sparrow or whatever smacked into my left wing leading edge with a small thump! There were some blood stains on the wing, so I speculate the poor creature lost its life in the encounter. However, thankfully, no dents or damage to my wing!

Which brings me back to square one: find a transparent plastic sheet with the following specs:
- fairly easy to form, bend, drill, and sand
- good impact resistance (as least as good as Lexan/polycarbonate)
- imprevious to (bioethanol) fuel spill (!!!!!)
- uv resistant
- reasonable pricing

I can already hear you: good luck with that……!

Thx
Kai