Canopy Escape Tool Testing

This past week I visited the house of Bruce Swayze for an EAA Chapter 105 meeting. I'm not a member of the chapter, but was very interesting in seeing the progress Bruce had made, as we are only a few months behind him with our -7. As many of you know, Bruce unfortunately cracked his canopy. He was generous enough to let Len Kaufman (sp?) demonstrate the effectiveness of canopy escape tools. The Rescue Hammer wins!

http://youtu.be/fRvQxGl4kt4

Good Post ..... T-Dog!

I would have thought the first tool could have done the job, but now I'll rethink to the 2nd tool.

And for you....get back to work and build those hours! Hours = Freight Dog Escape Tool

I couldn't see the first tool... What was it?

It looked to me like a spring loaded center punch.

Trevor? We need some "Tech Support" on this

There was a thread about a year ago that also tested the effectiveness of several canopy-breaker devices and the Rescue Hammer worked the best in that comparison. (Mythbusters TV show demonstrated its effectiveness a few years ago on tempered glass in an automobile, but not on plexiglass.) Since I have one of the Rescue Hammers in my Aircraft, it's nice to have another data point. Let's hope we never really need to use it.

Mine is installed on the forward sidewall by my right foot (RV-8).

Looked for one in the usual places, eBay, Amazon, noticed there are a couple different brands, any one better than another? Trying to avoid cheap junk from you know where.......

gbrasch said:

Looked for one in the usual places, eBay, Amazon, noticed there are a couple different brands, any one better than another? Trying to avoid cheap junk from you know where.......

Click to expand...

Found mine at the Container Store. I forget the exact brand name.

Chris

That video is reassuring to watch. I have a rescue hammer mounted next to my leg on my -7. I've always wondered how effective it would be in an emergency.

Thanks for making the best of a bad situation (cracked canopy ) and making this video for the rest of us.

Canopy Breaker Tool

Thank you posting the video, and giving a lot of people confidence in the tool. I was on commuter train a few months ago, and noticed a similar tool for escaping the train (break glass to get tool to break glass!!). There was one significant human factors difference in the design. The tool on the train had a plastic guard forming a loop down one side that protects your forward facing fingers, should your hand pass through the glass/plexiglas when it breaks. In a real emergency, you will be smacking the canopy much harder than in the demonstration, and there is some risk to your hand. If anyone sees a tool for sale with the guard, give us a heads up.