Broken 172 Windshield

aviatorrbt

aviatorrbt

New Member
Hey everyone,
has anyone ever heard of a piece of windshield ever popping out on a semi-hard landing? Because today a CFI at my work landed a 172 sort of hard and a 1 by 2 foot piece of plexi-glass came out and landed on the CFI's student's lap. There was no structural damage at all or anything else besides the window breaking..... any ideas?
 
That doesn't sound good. I've had a rear window blow out from a lighting strike twisting the metal frame, but never anything on the front. I wonder if the interior seals were rotted out and it just fell back on landing. I guess the venturi effect would have kept the pressure slight higher inside the plane during flight so it wouldn't have come out then.

Odd either way.
 
It sounds like the windshield was installed wrong and all the stresses on the airframe flexed the windshield. Semi-hard landings happen, the windshield was probably just a problem waiting to happen.

That being said I helped an A+P install the windshild on my 172 and it was a pain in the a$$, the factory never seems to get them the right size.
 
The 172 I instructed in/flew had a windshield that would slide a little on every landing, no matter how smooth or rough. During cruise, you could put your hand up on the curved part of the glareshield and feel a good flow of air coming through.
 
I've got a lot of time in a 172 and I have never seen that before. I've seen a lot of cracked spinners, but that sounds like the windshield was faulty, especially if there was no other damage to the plane during the hard landing.
 
If you don't think the windshield on the 172 you're flying is jacked up, do it in the rain. Oh, boy.

You will get wet.
 
I've heard that on the Baron, if you forget to close the storm window after takeoff (max window speed is 126 KIAS) and you close it at about 150, the venturi effect will draw the window closed pretty hard and it can crack the window . . .
 
I've heard that on the Baron, if you turn the fuel pumps on high during flight, it WILL kill the engines.

Is that true Lloyd?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top