Are the boeing 737NG wind shield glass UV protected???

[sky-738]

each time I climb onto high altitude with a big sunshine into the cockpit , I consider about this question. .......Anyone can help?THX

[Denti]

I have skin type 1 and still never got a sun burn on the flight deck, to me that makes it likely that the flightdeck windows block UV.

Thats of course not a definitive answer of course, just a personal impression from flying the 737 for the last 12 years.

[stilton]

What is skin type I ?


Did you ever consider getting a later version ?

[Dg800]

Is the glass tinted? AFAIK anti-UV glass (or plexiglass) always has a visible tint, usually brownish. Clear glass is untreated and will let through soft UV radiation, but block out hard radiation, the type that causes skin cancer.
Can still be a problem if you sunburn easily, but on the other hand how often do you have the sun shining right on you through the windshield for a long time and not just simply diffusing into the cockpit? Diffused light is of course much less harmful than direct radiation.

[Dg800]

What is skin type I ?


Did you ever consider getting a later version ?There you go:

Know Your Skin Type | Skin Type I (http://www.knowyourskintype.com/Skin-Types/Type-1.aspx)

Basically, the typical Irish red-head with freckles and all. If he's a she I'd advise against getting any upgrade. Irish lassies are hot! :E

[Denti]

Sorry to disappoint, not a "hot" irish lass here.

Anyway, UV (both A and B) can be blocked by clear glass or non-glass material, all normal correction eyeglasses do that for example (yeah, i wear glasses too). That requires a special coating of course.

As to the 737 flight deck windows, those are laminated glass and block both UV types to my knowledge. I have to admit i do not know if there is an additional layer for the window heating as there is in some other types.

[sky-738]

a little bit confused , can anyone tell me yes or not ?

[Dg800]

Sorry to disappoint, not a "hot" irish lass here.A hot Irish lad then? Not that I'd be in the least interested, mind you.

Vacuum deposition coatings on a 737 cockpit window are rather unlikely, firstly because they would cost a fortune (think of the surface area) secondly because they're not as durable as simple tinted glass. The best I can do is to say that if the glass appears clear and not tinted than it's most likely just plain glass, so no UV filter at all. I don't have direct knowledge though, sorry.

[FlightPathOBN]

Theres a doc for that!

Optical Radiation Transmittance of Aircraft Windscreens and Pilot Vision (http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA471609)

Three windscreens were from large commercial jets (MD 88, Airbus A320, and Boeing 727/737); two from commercial, propeller-driven passenger planes (Fokker 27 and the ATR 42); one from a small private jet (Raytheon Aircraft Corporation Hawker Horizon); and two from small general aviation (GA), single-engine, propeller-driven planes (Beech Bonanza and Cessna 182). The two GA aircraft windscreens were plastic (polycarbonate); the others were multilayer (laminated) composite glass.

RESULTS: UV transmittance for both glass and plastic windscreens was less than 1% for UV-B (280-320 nm) radiation. In the UV-A portion (320-380 nm) of the spectrum, transmittance differences increased from 0.41% to 53.5%, with plastic attenuating more UV radiation than glass. For visible light, average transmittance from 400-600 nm (violet to orange) was similar (82.8% ± 4.6%) for both windscreen materials, while from 625 to 775 nm (orange to red), the difference in average transmittance increased from 9.1% to 40.0%, respectively, with plastic transmitting longer wavelengths more efficiently.

CONCLUSIONS: Both types of windscreens blocked most of the more harmful UV-B radiation; however, glass laminate windscreens allowed higher levels of potentially damaging UV-A radiation to be transmitted than did plastic. Professional pilots who routinely fly at higher altitude for longer periods of time than private pilots should take special precautions to protect their eyes from UV exposure.

[Yeelep]

FLIGHTPATHOBN beat me to it.

[FlightPathOBN]

hahaha..added that because I figured it was far too many pages for a pilots attentions span... :}

[eagleflier]

You are a genius. The whole post meant f**kall to me until I got to the CONCLUSION
Good answer to a question I get asked a lot "why do you pilots always wear glasses"

[FlightPathOBN]

eagle, I concur :D

my next topic will be why (male) pilots should buy my patented lead lined underwear...

[sky-738]

FlightPathOBN (http://www.pprune.org/members/351467-flightpathobn) , YOU ARE GREAT!
Thanks for the answer !