Feeling flushed

The forums were abuzz all weekend as promoters tried to rationalize their way out of the seemingly straightforward conclusion from Dreamliner designed Klaus Brauer's comments that Boeing was importing the technology JAMCO puts in its airplane lavatory windows, for use in the main cabin windows.

The biggest objection appears to be that the JAMCO lavatory windows are strictly "on-off", not dimming. Of course, that is premised on the theory that the tech from the lavatory will be transplanted as-is with no refinement whatsoever, which seems a shaky contention at best. And really, the whole line of thinking that liquid crystal light shading is strictly binary is quite thoroughly exploded by the development of modern LCD computer monitors and LCD televisions.

Another is that there is no documentation of JAMCO products appearing in business jets, as mentioned in the Brauer comments. Apparently the expectation is that JAMCO, like REFR, would publicize every single sale they make.

One counter-theory that seems to have been definitively answered even to the promoters' reluctant satisfaction is that liquid crystal windows could only function in temperature-controlled interior environments, and that the windows must therefore be facing the cabin interior, not the outside. Unfortunately for this line of thinking, there are photos showing the window to be behind the toilet, which would place it on the exterior of the aircraft.

One can never really assume that this story is making it outside the somewhat insulated world of the message board forums, but it is notable that the stock is diving to fresh lows even as I write this. One thing seems certain: management is almost certainly glad to have gotten the annual meeting out of the way before this revelation broke.