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Tom, I'll add a few thoughts on those windows. Our '68 has a nearly identical window with the only difference being that Airstream added a thin aluminum "frame" to the glass in the later 1960's.
The frame marginally strengthens the glass, but in my opinion the primary benefit of it is that it makes the windows somewhat more visible to passers-by. We do not open the windows more than 1/4 during rallies because it is nearly impossible to see the windows when you are walking parallel to the trailer, and the result is painful and can result in broken glass.
Stefrobrts (who is on this forum) has posted some pictures somewhere of her custom-made window awnings that solve this problem by making the open glass easily visible.
When there is no danger of people hitting the window, we routinely crank them fully open and have not experienced a problem. Most of the stress is on the rugged hinge assembly and the crank mechanism, and not the glass itself. The cranks use soft pot metal for the gears, and this is where you'll probably encounter a problem someday -- they strip easily.
As Bud points out, if the hinge clamp ("slot") that holds the glass in place lets loose, you will lose a window. If you aren't sure, consider removing and re-securing it in the hinge clamp with double-sided tape and silicone. (Yes, this is one of the places where silicone is OK to use on an Airstream!) Otherwise, one might just fall out during towing.
When camping, we always close down the windows during high winds just because the glass is virtually unobtainable. If one breaks, you will be replacing it with acrylic plastic.
Even with those precautions accidents happen. Towing back through Maryland last week we lost one of those windows. Not sure if the cause was flying road debris or just age, but when we pulled into the next fuel stop, it was shattered. The chemical tempering of these windows will not protect them against everything, and I can tell you from personal experience that they do shatter into sharper fragments than modern tempered auto glass.
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