windscreen replacement M20K

[flumag]

Hi,

I plan to replace my windscreen in my M20K. Are there any recommendations, experience what product I should prefer? The price difference between Great Lakes Aero and LP Aero Plastics is good 20%. Are there any quality differences? Are there other products that I look at?

What is approximately the labor cost of replacing it and does it worth to increase the thickness from .187 in to .250 in. I got told that the sicker ones are way more difficult to build in and would increase the labor significantly.

Thanks Hendrik

[jetdriven]

I did the Great Lakes windshield and it required no trimming. The 1/4" version adds significantly to the labor cost as the edge needs to be milled to 3/16", at least on the older planes.  Do get the solar gray with uv tint. That's worth it. 

[rbridges]

14 minutes ago, jetdriven said:

I did the Great Lakes windshield and it required no trimming. The 1/4" version adds significantly to the labor cost as the edge needs to be milled to 3/16", at least on the older planes.  Do get the solar gray with uv tint. That's worth it. 

I really like the tinted windows.  Looks nice, and I imagine it takes a little of the heat, too.

[jetdriven]

The solar gray looks clear but it's very subtly tinted. It does appear to block some heat 

[CaptRJM]

I also installed Great Lakes 1/4" Solar Grey. Very happy with it.  Hardest part was removing the old windscreen and adhesive.

New windscreen needed very little fitting, probably less than 30 minutes.

[milotron]

10 minutes ago, CaptRJM said:

I also installed Great Lakes 1/4" Solar Grey. Very happy with it.  Hardest part was removing the old windscreen and adhesive.

New windscreen needed very little fitting, probably less than 30 minutes.

Did you already have the 1/4" windshield?

[Steve Dawson]

16 hours ago, CaptRJM said:

I also installed Great Lakes 1/4" Solar Grey. Very happy with it.  Hardest part was removing the old windscreen and adhesive.

New windscreen needed very little fitting, probably less than 30 minutes.

Did you notice any noise reduction with the 1/4" over the original glass?

[carusoam]

Also consider the improved bird strike resistance with the heavier thickness...  it isn't perfect, but it is in the right direction...

Best regards,

-a-

[Andy95W]

7 hours ago, Steve Dawson said:

Did you notice any noise reduction with the 1/4" over the original glass?

I swapped out the windshield on my first Mooney. 

Quieter?  Yes. Noticeably? Not really. 

[bradp]

I put the thicker glass in from LP aero.  I called chief for a quote and it was almost wholesale - so an excellent value compared to list price and a lot cheaper than GLAP.  I did smoke grey with UV/IR treatment.  

The plane is no more quiet than before the new windshield.  I had it installed by people who know what they're doing.  They indicated that almost zero trimming was required.  The LP aero people said they have modified their templates over the years based on what customers have provided to them for templates.  I did side windows from LP aero and only had to trim one corner of one window.  

[231MJ]

I'm also due for a new windscreen in my K.  With modern ANR headsets, is it worth going 1/4"?   Anyone know what the labor time/costs are?

[jetdriven]

18 hours ago, bradp said:

I put the thicker glass in from LP aero.  I called chief for a quote and it was almost wholesale - so an excellent value compared to list price and a lot cheaper than GLAP.  I did smoke grey with UV/IR treatment.  

The plane is no more quiet than before the new windshield.  I had it installed by people who know what they're doing.  They indicated that almost zero trimming was required.  The LP aero people said they have modified their templates over the years based on what customers have provided to them for templates.  I did side windows from LP aero and only had to trim one corner of one window.  

What was the cost? I paid 747$ shipped to Texas for the 1/4" GLAP solar gray uv tint windshield. 

[CaptRJM]

I did 1/4" GLAP Solar Grey glass all around. Really didn't have any problems at all. Had to drill new holes for the retainers on the side glass. Windscreen went in with minor fitting.  No problem installing the stock windscreen retainer.  

I'd have to dig out the invoice from my IA but I think total cost including the glass was around $2500.  I was busy at the time so I didn't work with him as much as usual.  I did scrape out all the old adhesive and that took me the better part of a day.

Is it quieter?  Yes, but not like you don't need to have a good headset.  I feel the 1/4" glass buys you a greater margin of safety in case of a bird strike.  

Edited July 25, 2017 by CaptRJM
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[Steve Dawson]

Thanks guys. Those were the answers I was looking for unfortunately 

[bradp]

On 7/25/2017 at 7:35 AM, jetdriven said:

What was the cost? I paid 747$ shipped to Texas for the 1/4" GLAP solar gray uv tint windshield. 

I'll look up the invoice when I get the hangar unpacked.  :-).  I recall it was near that but only slightly lower (maybe 5-10%).  

[TTaylor]

1. No real difference between suppliers that I have seen. I used GLA and was very happy.  

2. Get the solar gray.

3. The extra bird protection for the front is worth going with 0.25 in the windscreen.

4. If doing side windows use 0.187 on those. Not enough noise reduction to justify the weight difference and extra effort to install going with 0.25.

5. If your mechanic will allow you to do work, you can save a significant amount because much of the process is grunt work on removing old glue, cleaing, etc.