A product has come onto the market which may see the end of cumbersome window blinds. LS Consulting’s I-Shade Advanced Particle Device (APD) achieves 100 per cent opacity with its lamination process. Company president Luc Stultjens said: “For years nothing

has been done to develop window shading, but with this product passengers can now choose the darkness of their windows and still look outside.”

Technical director Derrick Williams said: “This has been in development for three years and what we consider crucial is that there are no moving parts. It’s powered by electrical wire around the edge of the screen, which is connected to the power supply of aircraft.

“The windows can either be activated separately by the passenger himself or daisy chained together so that the cabin attendant can activate them simultaneously. There are different settings depending on the degree of opacity the passenger wants and the laminate can also come in different colours, including white, blue and bronze.”

When the aircraft is powered down all of the windows are dark, which the company says leads to less heat build up. “By filtering out the ultra violet rays, there’s not so much degradation in areas such as the wood trims,” added Williams.

The system has already been fitted in Challengers and Beechcraft across the US, but the company is now focusing on the European market. He said: “We’re confident that this will be fitted as standard on business aircraft in the future, in fact we’re already speaking to a number of OEMs.”

I-Shade has proved so popular with one customer that he has

even had it installed on his home windows. “It’s an excellent security device because if the windows

are bullet proof, a sensor can be

fitted in the screen which makes

all the windows turn black if they’re hit,” said Williams.

The company is also involved with AquaJet Appliance Company’s AquaJet product range. This includes a recirculating water system for inflight shower units. “By running on just three gallons of water, it can provide an endless flow of hot crystal clear water without the penalty of extra weight and loss of storage space in the hold,” said Williams. An aircraft would be able to maintain its maximum range while still allowing all passengers to take a shower.