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O NO! did anyone get hurt, that could have been real bad!
[Ed. This aircraft looks familiar... N457JJ purchased out of Florida?
As an interim fix, how about using a bungee cord? Attach the cord to the canopy handle and attach the free end to the horizontal crossbar behind the seats?
Wow. I've been careful about not leaving the canopy open, but I often have it sitting on the latch -- as I suspect every other -12 pilot who flies when it's hot does. That would really, really suck.I wonder how hard it would be to add a second latch position. So that you could latch the canopy closed as normal, but also latch it cracked open, just for ground operations.
Wow. I've been careful about not leaving the canopy open, but I often have it sitting on the latch -- as I suspect every other -12 pilot who flies when it's hot does. That would really, really suck.
I haven't had a chance to get to the hangar to take a look and see if it would be practical, but I was thinking a horizontal slot near the top of the roll bar might be the thing. Somewhere you could latch the canopy securely open a few inches, almost as far as having the latch resting on top of the roll bar. You'd probably need a reinforcing plate, maybe .063 or even .125. Just an idea at this point, like I said I haven't even looked at mine to see if it would work. If it would, it seems like it would be a relatively easy retrofit with a Dremel and a few blind rivets.
I'd prefer something like that over any solution requiring an additional step that could be forgotten.
How about a welded on long tab, easy to implement and works without thinking. Also a shortened version could fit into a slot in the roll bar. But, a long tab might seem in the way of rear access when the canopy is shut. Also it might be a head bump hazard. I don't know, never been in a 12 or even been up close. Just throwing a simple idea into the mix for fun.
...I hope this will suffice. Bought a $5 box of bungees from Aviation Dept at Home Depot, selected one which when wrapped around itself on the seatback crossbrace hooked into canopy handle with moderate tension.
Tiewrapped it to crossbrace. Dern thing lays right up against passenger seat back when not in use and is kind of hard to miss, being bright orange.
Added "canopy bungee" to pre-start checklist.
This time when the fix-kit comes from Vans, un-doing my fix will only take about 30 seconds.
That video is scary.
Jim
RV-12 #264
flying 400+ hours
Nice. If that works it could be the most elegant solution yet. Can't wait to get to the hangar and have a look to see how these ideas look "in person".Sitting in the plane today, I came up with this idea to keep the canopy from opening. Have not actually made it yet. Bend an 1/8" x 1" aluminum bar and fasten one end of it to the forward side of the roll bar so that the other end extends 1" past center. When the canopy is in the ventilation position, the aluminum bar will be inside of the handle loop, preventing the canopy from opening further. There is no extra step for the pilot to forget.
My 12 finish kit is on order scheduled to arrive in August. Are the new struts included or will these only be available as an upgrade?
Can the Mother Ship bring a set of new struts to OSH for display?
Can the Mother Ship bring a set of new struts to OSH for display?
O NO! did anyone get hurt, that could have been real bad! So sorry for this person, so much work goes into these things. is this considered a required prop strike teardown or does this not apply to Rotax?