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JDAir new Canopy Latch

RV7Guy

Well Known Member
The JD Air Parts tip up canopy latch has been slightly redesigned for a better appearance. Mechanically, it is exactly the same. The reason for the design change is two fold. 1) The previous version was water jet cut and then required machining. 2) My company doing the machining looked at the drawings and felt the latches could be machined quicker with a better appearance.

RV7 builder Sean Blair installed one in his plane. He had the old version and installed the new one for comparison. He said it works exactly the same. He will probably chime in with his thoughts and impressions.

And, in the interest of safety, we are also offering the latches anodized red. I thought this was important as a critical handle for egress. I don't have pictures of the red version but will get them on the site soon.

Visit www.jdair.com to order.
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Observations of the New JD Air Tip Up Canopy Handle/Latch

Hello everyone. As Darwin mentioned, I recently installed one of JD Air's new canopy latches in my RV7 project. In my case, this is a retrofit of the prior model.

The previous version of this latch seemed a little bulky to me, IMHO. It's still a great option that performs well though. Either of the JD Air versions of this latch/handle is far superior to the stock one produced by Van?s.

I have several attractions to the new design:
? It is "sleek" in appearance with the interior portions of the handle.
? It is much smoother of a machined finish. I believe the new one is CNC'd, where the prior is water jet. The previous pics in this thread show my original handle after I had taken efforts to smooth and somewhat polish it. In its original state, the previous handle was much rougher and "frosty" looking.
? It won't take much work to polish the new product to a nice shine. The prior will take a fair chunk of time to get that look....if that's what you like.

Fit and Operation:
? The smaller front portion of this assembly fit the existing cutout in my fuselage skin just the same as the prior.
? The larger aft portion of the handle was slightly over-sized in length compared to the existing cutout. I estimate just over 1/32". You can either take that material from the lever or file the opening of the skin just a touch. Otherwise, this lever engaged fine with the fuselage skin. I believe this is being reviewed by Darwin (he can confirm).
? As with the prior model, I spent a little time with the hooks of the latch and the face just above them to get the proper fit and engagement. My hooks didn't initially mate because of too much material...but just barely. A few minutes sneaking up on it with a 1" Scotch Brite wheel in a die grinder got the clearance I needed. Again...I had to do this with the original, too. I believe that although the latch has an installation template drawing for the cutouts, and dimensions for the brackets...we can introduce small deviations in construction. Just a little finesse gets this remedied.
? I added the spring and the linkage, then immediately realized smooth and positive operation.

I'm pleased with the new latch and it adds to the look I'm trying to achieve with my plane. It's solid and works well. Another quality product (and support) from Darwin and JD Air.
 
Just curious. If one were to accidentally bump the forward knob (reaching for something else, stretching, etc.), would the latch unlatch, and would that be a problem?
 
Tip up canopies have a second latch overhead at the aft portion of the canopy.

Pic:
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Now the new handle linkage in anodized red definitely has my attention. Will this appear on the JDAir site soon? I'm in for one set.

I built KELLI GIRL with the original JDAir design, and love it. 740+ flight hours in 3.69 years, and it never came open. It'd take a really deliberate bump to get it to unlock in flight (ie, it never has happened). Great design.
 
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Yes it was. Robbie gave me the design when he got out of it.

If that?s the case it?s a outstanding design. I had Robbies 6 with his version of this latch and it?s fantastic design. There are no worries about bumping it open in flight. If I were building a tip up it would be on the aircraft no questions asked!!
G
 
I really like these but I'm not so sure I can retrofit it to a flying airplane without buggering up the paint or messing with my Classic Aero interior panel.

Bummer
 
Has anyone replaced the stock latch with this one, or is that even a possiblity?

Yes you can. I retrofitted my older generation JDAir handle after having already installed the stock Van?s handle. Not tough. Definitely worth it.

HOWEVER, it does involve expanding the rectangular holes in the cockpit side wall. If your airplane is painted, that might be an issue. Mine wasn?t yet painted (wrapped), so it was easy.
 
Yes you can. I retrofitted my older generation JDAir handle after having already installed the stock Van?s handle. Not tough. Definitely worth it.

HOWEVER, it does involve expanding the rectangular holes in the cockpit side wall. If your airplane is painted, that might be an issue. Mine wasn?t yet painted (wrapped), so it was easy.

I?ve also been considering changing out my original stock Van?s tip-up canopy latch with the JDAIR latch. No question it is an improved functional latch and I regret not being aware of the product during my original build. Having said that, my airplane is painted and I am still considering the latch but wanted to show specially what would need to be done for a retrofit. items in red are from the Vans template with the JDAIR template as an overlay. I positioned as best as possible to minimize repainting issues. The two callouts circled ?1? are two flush rivet holes that would have to be filled with a rivet or some other method and repainted using their existing latch.

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I wonder if JDAIR would consider elongating the two latch portions slightly (2 callout?s #1) to cover these two existing holes for a retrofit version of their product ?

For those that have the latch are there any functional issues to extend the face of the latch to cover the two pre-existing holes? I'm not sure if putting in a flush rivet in the callouts to fill the hole would interfere with the latch.

JDAIR, something to consider.
 
I?ve also been considering changing out my original stock Van?s tip-up canopy latch with the JDAIR latch. No question it is an improved functional latch and I regret not being aware of the product during my original build. Having said that, my airplane is painted and I am still considering the latch but wanted to show specially what would need to be done for a retrofit. items in red are from the Vans template with the JDAIR template as an overlay. I positioned as best as possible to minimize repainting issues. The two callouts circled ?1? are two flush rivet holes that would have to be filled with a rivet or some other method and repainted using their existing latch.

FP26022019A00010.jpg


I wonder if JDAIR would consider elongating the two latch portions slightly (2 callout?s #1) to cover these two existing holes for a retrofit version of their product ?

For those that have the latch are there any functional issues to extend the face of the latch to cover the two pre-existing holes? I'm not sure if putting in a flush rivet in the callouts to fill the hole would interfere with the latch.

JDAIR, something to consider.

I just installed this on my QB -14A. I found that the rivet #1 in front of the long cutout interfered with the handle, even the dimpled skin. I flattened it and filled with epoxy/flux. I also had to move the pattern back so the front cutout lined up on the front of the existing (Van's) cutout, this was due to the bulkhead. but this was on a 14.
 
Tough answer

They are as tight as you make them. Standard install has a "L" washer between the angles and the latch. That is your gap. Some install UHMV tape on the latch and this will help some.

In the 15 years we've been producing the latch I haven't heard of anyone complaining about water getting in.

I've got Red anodized and standard aluminum color in stock and ready to ship.
 
This looks like a great product that I will be hopefully using when the time comes. I’m just wondering can a locking mechanism be incorporated? I will definitely want the ability to lock my canopy if the aircraft is unattended. From what I have read, others are using a padlock on the original canopy latch.
 
Hi Brian, any photos of your lock setup? I think I know what you did, but photos are so eloquent!
 
Here is what I did for the lock

I had a key shop match the tumbler to the ignition key. The steel locking flange had to be heated up and bent to the correct angles before it fit properly into place.
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