Regarding concerns about taking off with an open canopy in the Legacy, Mark Summers, a new Legacy pilot, has asked me to post a message here advising that there is a discussion about open canopy problems in the Vans RV-12 at this link:

 

 

Personally, I remain a little skeptical about this perceived problem.  On one hand, I can't imagine aerodynamic forces that would cause the canopy to open more than a few inches and have second hand knowledge of a Legacy open canopy on takeoff that exhibited no problems.  On the other hand, there have been fatal accidents following an open canopy on takeoff, which cannot be ignored. 

 

It would be nice if someone could offer a plausible explanation of forces that could open a Legacy canopy more than a few inches.   Even better if someone did high speed taxi tests with the canopy unlatched, with a video camera on a chase car recording the results.  But I'm not volunteering!

 

Best,

Dennis

Legacy, 680 hours