Development of the F16 Transparent Canopy

1
Thank you.
2
F-16 Transparency Development
WORLD CLASS PRODUCTS FOR THE DEFENSE AND
TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRIES

• Presented to
• Allied Weight Engineers
• 24th Texas Regional Conference
• 15 September 2000

3
Topics

• Introduction to Texstars, Inc.
• Introduction to the F-16 Transparency
• F-16 Transparency Development
• Conclusion

4
Introduction to Texstars

• Texstars mission is to provide high-quality
  products, on-time delivery, exemplary customer
  service, and superior technical support to
  aerospace and defense customers worldwide.
• Founded 1946
• 275 Employees
• 275,000 square feet of manufacturing space
  located in Grand Prairie, Texas.

5
Texstars Markets Products

• Markets
• Aerospace and Defense
• Mass Transit
• Products
• Composite Products
• Molded Products
• Aircraft Transparencies

6
Composite Products

• Aircraft ducts
• Boeing, Bombardier
• Structural and non-structural panels
• Boeing, McDonnell Douglas
• Mass transit railcar components
• SFO, Washington, DC

7
Molded Products

• Aircraft ducts and housings
• Lockheed, Saab, Bell Helicopter
• Night vision goggle housings
• Ground support equipment
• Covers for jet engine inlet, air intake
• B-777 wing end caps

8
Aircraft Transparencies

• Canopies F-16, F-15, F-14
• Windshields A-10, E-2C, F-4, F-14, F-111, F-117,
  F-5/T-38, T-37, B-1B, AH-1W
• Special B-2 PTPS (glare shield)
• Commercial aircraft transparencies
• Cabin windows, wingtip lenses, flight deck
  windshields
• Advanced Transparency Systems
• F-22/JSF type systems

9
Introduction to the F-16 Transparency
10
A Little History

• F-16 Production started in the late 70s.
• One of the most successful fighter programs in
  terms of number produced and meeting performance
  expectations.
• Texstars was the original transparency source
  when production began. Texstars and competitors
  have produced well over 10,000 transparencies
  over the life of this program.

11
What Defines the Transparency?

• The Requirements
• Shape Unchanged
• Thickness Unchanged
• Interchangeability Unchanged
• Weight Unchanged
• Optics Changed for greater performance
• Coatings Changed for greater performance
• Bird-strike Changed for greater performance

12
How Do You Increase Bird-strike Resistance?

• Increase thickness
• Change materials
• Optimize the cross-section

13
Transparency Birdstrike Resistance
14
Transparency Weight

• Weight Balance
• Maturing systems and CG shifts
• Thrust to weight
• Maturing systems gain weight, but get a bigger
  engine
• Emergency Egress
• This is what it is all about

15
Canopy Assembly
16
Emergency Egress

• The plastic transparency is not cut or blown
  apart.
• The complete canopy assembly separates from the
  aircraft.
• The canopy is removed with rocket motors.
• The rocket motors will only lift so much mass.
• This is the driver for transparency weight.

17
The Weight vs Performance Problem

• If transparency requirements are unchanged, with
  the minor exception of Optics and Coatings, how
  do you increase birdstrike performance from a
  4-lb bird at 350 kts. to a 4-lb bird at 550 kts.
  without significantly increasing weight?

18
Monolithic 350 kt.

• Manufactured until 1983.
• ¾ monolithic polycarbonate.
• 4-lb 350 kt.
• Typical weight 133 lbs.

19
Laminated 350 kt.

• Still being manufactured
• Acrylic - Polycarbonate
• 4-lb 350 kt.
• Typical weight 123 lbs.

20
High Speed Impact

• Catastrophic brittle failure. The bird punches a
  hole.
• The canopy rejects the bird, but the deflection
  hits the pilot in the head.
• The canopy initially rejects the bird, but the
  transparency fails on the rebound due to a notch
  received during impact with the HUD.

21
HUD Location
22
Laminated 550 kt.

• Manufacture started in 1995
• Laminated polycarbonate.
• 4-lb 550 kt.
• Typical weight 127 lbs.

23
Conclusion

• Through the use innovative thinking the
  birdstrike performance of the F-16 Canopy
  Assembly has been increased significantly without
  increasing the weight of the system.
• The 550 kt birdstrike performance matches the
  real world flight profile of the aircraft.

24
Thank You
Thank you.