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breaking the plexiglass canopy/floats ??

redhawk

redhawk

Well Known Member
Does anyone have a good tool that would allow escape from a overturned RV4 with a plexiglass canopy? Somehow I don't think one of those tempered-glass
breaking tools would work on plexiglass!

Has anyone ever heard of a RV4 on floats??
 
Welcome, Dick...

.....to VAF forums. I just bought a small axe from the aviation department at Lowe's.:)

Regards,
 
Axe or Survival Knife

I'm with Pierre on this one. Axe or a heavy knife designed for the task.

I bought a Gerber ASEK knife from LA Police Gear ($60). It came with the knife sheath and a seatbelt cutter/safety knife in a separate sheath.

The knife has a serrated blade and is designed to hammer/cut through plexiglass.

FWIW, I've broken/cut 1/4" plexiglass, sheet aluminum, and aluminum angle in my shop with this knife. Haven't had to try it on a canopy, but this knife is tough.

See http://www.lapolicegear.com/lmfiiasek.html

Good hunting,
Mike
 
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Welcome to the VAF forum

Those plastic hammers won't even break a car window or cut a seatbelt, total POS, don't waste your money.

My preference is a Glock. You can pick your caliber but was I was really thinking about was one of their knives.

I have an 81 strapped to the harness on my expedition pack for when I go out for a week or more. They are lightweight, sharp, and just the type of quality you would expect from Glock.

Some builders have put a spike on the end of their removable stick. This should work just fine and you don't have to have an extra weapon in the aircraft.
 
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Glock

Bill:

Obviously, you've never fired a firearm in an enclosed space.:eek: Granted, total hearing loss could be a minor problem compared to some scenarios while upside down in an RV!:D

My emergency egress tool is a Boy Scout Hatchet. Hope to never use it
 
Although the idea of using the pistola is appealing for sheer ease of use, I am somewhat skeptical of the ultimate outcome.

Having thought of what I will do "if" I need to break the canopy, I took a lesson from when I cracked my first canopy durring the final stages of drilling the mounting flange holes on my -6A Tip-up. If it really is so easy to crack the plexi, then why not use a drill and a nice sharp bit... not the plexi kind mind you, but a good 'ol fashioned #30 that I have bunch of...

Which brings us to what to use for the "drill" motor? Answer...I have a "Yankee" screwdriver from my woodworking days...you know the kind, spring-loaded-ratchiting-push-handle. When you push the handel, it spins the screwdriver blade (now to be a drill bit) into the work surface. So this gives me a drill bit, a way to spin the bit, and all I have to do is point it at the canopy and push.

The bonus here is that the "Yankee" screwdriver can double as the removeable co-pilot's stick, and due to the lockable nature of the push-power design the length of the "stick" is completely adjustable.
 
mannanj said:
Bill:

Obviously, you've never fired a firearm in an enclosed space.:eek: Granted, total hearing loss could be a minor problem compared to some scenarios while upside down in an RV!:D
Click to expand...
Unfortunately I have and I agree with you. Even a .22 in a confined space is loud and 9mm is just deafening. Besides, I'm not so sure I would want to light off a round inside an overturned aircraft due to the possibility of a fuel leak.

The Glock knife I recommended has a "root saw" on the back that should work very well. The only issue is getting room to swing the thing. That may not be a problem as I figure that if I'm upside down, the canopy is probably going to be broken already. :( So starting a crack the canopy shouldn't be an issue.
 
Automatic Center Punch?

I wonder how well one of those automatic center punches would work. It is what the car thieves use to pop a window.

Anyone want to test it??;)
 
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One answer

Our EAA chapter looked at this issue for several meetings. We even tested breaking two canopies with a variety of tools, some purchased, a couple were homemade and the best is shown as installed in my airplane. This is simply an auto body pick hammer, but I cut out a triangular blade from sheet steel and welded it to the hammer.

The pick easily penetrates the plexi, then the blade allows for a continuing cut, preventing the handle from just stopping further breakage. The hammer end worked good for the final breakout.

My concern over using a gun is fuel vapor from possible damaged tanks after an overturn.

71407024in8.th.jpg
 
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Way back when, what the Air Force used to use (maybe they still do) is the smaller survival version of the Marine Corp K-Bar knife for punching through the 1/4" plexiglass. The plexigalss is thicker now. Maybe now they just flip a switch and let the detonation cord blow the plexiglass apart? The det cord is that white looking line you see attached to the canopy above the pilot's head. Probably blows the pilot's eardrums out too.
 
Breaking plexiglas and RV-4 on floats!

Hi Redhawk, I saw a tool which fire departments use to break car windows in the event they have to extricate somebody and are unable to open the car door. It appeared to be a spring loaded tool like a nail setter. I have one that I have used to mark nail holes in boards before driving nails. It has a lot of power to the pointed end and I'm certain it would probably break plexiglas. Maybe not as efficiently as the small axe that one reader suggested. On the RV-4 on floats. I talked to a man about 3 years ago in Las Vegas who had an RV-4 on floats. He also said that it was a retractable gear model, so I don't know how that works. I have watched out for photos of that plane but have never seen one. Regards, Paul Best
 
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