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Jet Journal
Fly Cooler: The story of Jet Shades by Rich Pickett
Kevin Duggan, the founder of Jet Shades, loves flying but often found himself unbearably hot while in the cockpit on the ground in his home state of Florida. He faced the same dilemma above the clouds (even with air conditioning), struggling to shade his eyes from the bright sun. He tried the
usual solutions like cling plastic panels, suction cup screens and aircraft charts jammed in the windows. Each helped but had drawbacks such as low UV protection, potential window damage and user difficulty. Kevin, an engineer by training, decided there must be a better way.
At the time, Kevin owned an Eclipse 500 and in 2016, developed his first pro- tective shade prototype. He had several goals: lightweight, high UVA and UVB protection and sufficient solar radiation reduction to help cool the aircraft. Kevin
and his team experimented with various materials and coatings which resulted in an optically perfect polycarbonate shade layered with a proprietary and patented coating. The resulting shade blocks 99.9 percent of UVA and UVB
radiation, 72 percent of visible light and 47 percent of total solar energy – and is extremely durable.
Kevin designed a clever installation method that doesn’t rely on suction cups or even touching the window. Using a surround seal and pull tabs, the shades fit securely within the window rim with precision. Jet Shades released their first production version for the Eclipse in 2018. Since then, the demand for that version (and others) has exploded. I’ve person- ally tried numerous options to shade the cockpit in my airplanes, including build- ing my own tinted acrylic inserts. So, I looked forward to chatting with Kevin and giving Jet Shades a try in my Eclipse.
On the Ground
Since there is an air gap between the shade and the window, you can actu- ally leave the side panels in place on the ground. But I would not recommend
Author Rich Pickett experimenting with Jet Shades panels in his Eclipse.
30 • TWIN & TURBINE
March 2019
PHOTOS BY AUTHOR
