Seeing clearly now

By Pamela Gregg, Communication Administrator, 937-229-3268

Without windshield wipers, it’s hard to navigate a car through driving rain. Even harder for an F-16 flying at up to 1,500 miles per hour. But a new product developed in part by the Air Force Research Laboratory, with support from the University of Dayton Research Institute, is designed to repel water from aircraft canopies in flight, ensuring better visibility and safer flying for pilots.

In addition to providing lab testing of various solutions, senior research engineer Matt Davies and other researchers in the structures group in UDRI’s applied mechanics division developed a new rain simulation test to more closely represent the conditions that occur during water pooling. Learn more about the development of HydroSkip and the Air Force’s plans for testing and fleet-wide adoption of the product.

(Photo credit: Staff Sgt. Cody Brown, 138th Maintenance Squadron, polishes the canopy of an F-16 fighter jet as part of the post-flight procedures on July 13, 2016 at the 138th Fighter Wing. The wraparound canopy provides ideal light in-flight and can withstand the impact of a 4 pound bird at 550 knots. Air National Guard photo/Master Sgt. Roberta A. Thompson)

Oct. 8, 2019