Although it may seem like a frivolous choice or that your choice maintains only aesthetic reasons, the truth is that aircraft windows are round and not square for very specific reasons. Airplane windows are the most desired seat for passengers who want to see the world at their feet.
For safety reasons, as we explained a few days ago, the airplane windows cannot be opened since the life of the passenger would be in serious danger. The fact that they are round also responds to safety and design reasons, which have been refined over the years.
Innovation in airplanes
The oval or round windows of airplanes are one of the symbols of innovation in this type of transport. And, according to experts, if the windows were square, the plane would disintegrate in mid-air mid-flight.
It was at the beginning of the last century, when the first airlines managed to make their commercial planes fly much higher. This was achieved thanks to the evolution of the aviation industry that sought to save costs on commercial flights. At higher altitudes, the density of the air is lower, therefore, the drag is lower and the fuel consumption is also lower.
To reach this milestone, engineers had to take into account that aircraft designs had to change. First they changed the cockpit, which had to be pressurized so that the pilots could breathe.
Later, the design of the plane became cylindrical. This factor was key since this way the plane would resist the atmospheric pressure once it ascended to a higher altitude.
Despite having taken everything into account, the windows were square and this meant that in the 50s three planes crashed due to the disintegration of their fuselage. Engineers agreed on one point: airplane windows had to change shape and be oval or round.
Accumulated stress
The reason that square windows were more dangerous than round ones was due to the pressure exerted by the frames on the aircraft’s fuselage structure.
This tension, which occurs at the time of the plane’s ascent, exerts more force on windows with corners than on oval or round windows, and this was noticeable in the pressure of the plane. When the force was greater than allowed, the windows could explode, something very dangerous, consequently, for the entire passage.
For this reason, the oval shape makes the pressure much lower in any case, which is why the airplanes were developed with the windows without corners, round and oval.
