Our canopy will open at part throttle if unlatched without canopy seal activated, with the seal activated, maybe not.

Sometime, someday, warnings and checklists won’t be enough for everyone so a secondary latch could save the day.  The design should work automatically like a auto hood latch.  If that latch would also hold the canopy open a couple of inches for ventilation on the ground I think even more people would be interested.  It would need to hold the canopy securely to minimize canopy vibration while taxiing and be strong enough to withstand about 140 knots if you managed to launch.  At least the flying qualities should be acceptable.

Still, if you launch with the canopy unlatched and your pilot skills are sufficient to deal with the surprise, wind, partially blocked view from the elevated canopy frame and possibly a passenger more panicked than you are, you might just come back and land…  or not.

Steve Colwell  Legacy  420 hours