I have had a couple of instances where the wind blew the canopy down while I had my arm outside the cockpit.  The last time is the closest I have ever come to having a broken arm!  Damn that hurt!  Took weeks for the knot to go away on my forearm.

We could use a better gas strut for this application.  I have already replaced them twice and have another pair ready to do it again.  They are especially bad in cold weather.

Bill B

The job of the co-pilot in my plane is to provide air conditioning.  That means that they either need to put their arm in between the canopy and the fuselage, or roll something up to use instead.

 

The non-skid that we use on the wing to get into the plane works pretty well.

 

From: Lancair Mailing List [mailto:lml@lancaironline.net] On Behalf Of Steve Colwell
Sent: Tuesday, March 04, 2014 1:36 PM
To: lml@lancaironline.net
Subject: [LML] Legacy canopy issues

 

Doug,

 

I have tried putting my Arm between the Canopy and Fuselage or Hand holding the Canopy open for ventilation on the ground.  When I add power to taxi the canopy shakes too much.  A automatic hood latch or alternative latch that has a rattle free connection would provide both Safety Retention and Ventilation.

 

Steve Colwell

 

 

From: Lancair Mailing List [mailto:lml@lancaironline.net] On Behalf Of Douglas Brunner
Sent: Tuesday, March 04, 2014 11:43 AM
To: lml@lancaironline.net
Subject: [LML] Re: Legacy canopy issues

 

Steve,

 

Not exactly a "hold open function", but if you hold the canopy up and push the lever to the closed postion, then lower the canopy down, it will sit with about 1" gap and allow for ventilation.

 

D. Brunner

-----Original Message-----
From: Steve Colwell
Sent: Mar 4, 2014 11:11 AM
To: lml@lancaironline.net
Subject: [LML] Legacy canopy issues

Note to Canopy Latch designers:  If the latch can have a Hold Open function for ventilation on the ground, it would be much more appealing.

 

Steve Colwell  Legacy RG

--

For archives and unsub http://mail.lancaironline.net:81/lists/lml/List.html