> Has anybody info or experience on hail damage to windsheilds / windscreens on commercial jet A/C. The damage to an A/C structure such as
leading edges and engines is well documented, however little information is available on windshields. <
For major hail encounters (stones big enough to dent leading edges) the typical damage has been radome delamination, all leading edge dents including wings, engine inlets and engine centerbodies, but no engine blade damage. In addition these events have typically also resulted in delamination of the frontal windshields while still being structuarlly sound.
SO242 DC9, LH747 and KAL747 come to mind. I'm not sure which of the structures mentioned above is the weakest since I've always seen similar damage in all structures at the same time. I'm sure there are lots of lesser events, but Ive never heard of the windshield or engine inlets by themselves.
By-The-Way, aircraft speed makes a very big difference and very few pilots attempt to penetrate big storm cells at speeds above 250kts