I know the thread about designing a safety latch for the Legacy canopy has pretty much run its course. However, I was discussing the issues with a colleague recently, and we came up with an idea. I should add, that neither of us has any particular involvement with the Legacy, as I am building a L360, so this idea is offered as a concept only, for those of you with a more pressing interest in the problem to throw around in the ideas pool.

Attached is a very rough sketch of the idea, if you can follow it. If it could be made to work, it would have the advantages as follows….

1                     It needs no input from the occupants to arm or latch it. The vane would move it to its’ armed position once the airspeed reached that required to turn the weather vane parallel to the centreline of the aircraft.

2                     It has no electrical components

3                     In an emergency, rescuers unfamiliar with the aircraft’s latching mechanism would not need to do anything to unlatch it, but would need only to operate the normal latch, because the spring loaded weather vane would turn at right angles to the aircraft centreline once the airspeed dropped below the designated speed.

The negatives are

1                     It might look a bit ugly from the outside, unless it is artistically sculptured

2                     It would add something of an obstacle at about head level for the occupants when reaching into the baggage area in flight.

I hope this isn’t a really silly idea!!

Regards,

Rob Stevens

Perth,

Western Australia.