New safety item: Canopy Breaker Tool

[vfrazier]

We just received a shipment of a brand new safety item. The Sabre Aviation canopy breaker is something that many of us would want to consider placing right next to our fire extinguisher. Check it out.

http://www.flyboyaccessories.com/sto...roducts_id=377

Thanks,

[DakotaHawk]

I have looked at several of these "canopy breakers", but have always wondered how effective they are. I've seen these Piranhas, as well as a center punch design, and the old fashioned hammer. They all make grandiose claims, but I've never seen pics or videos...

Has anyone ever used one of these successfully on an RV canopy? Even just someone's "throwaway" canopy could be a useful test subject to see how well these canopy breakers work.

Might even go viral on YouTube!

[billnaz]

I would like to see a demonstration of the use of one of these tools before I'd buy one, if only to compair it's efficacy to just kicking with fight or flight enhanced fury.

[flyboy1963]

I think they're on the right track. nice size and point just eyeballing it.

worth noting, is the standard issue was more like a dumbbell, to give it some mass when swinging in a confined space, and protect the hand.....
equipped with a very strong knife point.


(I think the centre-punch ones are for tempered glass only)

I've built a breaker point on the end of the Maglite in my flightbag, and have another smaller one to attach to the sidewall of the cockpit. Theory is, you're not carrying around dead weight, and the LED lite has a good heft, and should survive the egress if you do! ( sorry no pic handy!)

I agree, we really need a test pilot for this! Maybe the mythbuster guys can do it in an old boneyard???

[vfrazier]

This was on the Matronics Rocket list this morning:

I have a friend who's daughter was caught upside-down in an RV-6 with an
instructor. They used a canopy breaker tool similar to this one to bust
out. They were in the mud flats with the tide coming in. Highly
recommended!


The poster is a well known name to the lists, but I didn't have his permission so I left it off. Maybe he'll reply with more details.

[erich weaver]

My thought was that I could always use the butt end of my fire extinguisher to break through if necessary in an emergency. Either that, or just touch the canopy with a non-plexi rated drill bit to instantaneously induce a huge crack

erich

[Rick6a]

The passenger joystick in my RV-6A double duty as a canopy breakout tool and can be quickly removed. I installed the "Bubble-Buster" which contains a hardened steel tip at its lower end. Adding little additional weight, if it ever comes to that, the joystick can be quickly pulled out of its socket to have a go at breaking out the canopy 'glass. I would think the overall length of the joystick would or could be handy, especially is circumstances allowed you to work it with both arms and hands....or either hand if injury disabled the other. I sincerely hope I never have to find out if the "Bubble-Buster" works.

http://www.safeair1.com/SA1_products...leBuster_a.htm

[David Paule]

"The passenger joystick in my RV-6A double duty as a canopy breakout tool and can be quickly removed."

Be sure to add that info to your preflight passenger briefing so that if you are disabled, they'll know what to do.
.

[Snowflake]

Originally Posted by vfrazier

The poster is a well known name to the lists, but I didn't have his permission so I left it off. Maybe he'll reply with more details.

I'm not the poster but I am familiar with both the aircraft and the incident. The canopy breaker is like the one in Perry's photo, it might even be an official issue RCAF breaker, but i'm not 100% sure about that.

It's worth noting that even with the breaker tool, the resulting opening will be *very* sharp around the edges and if the plane is resting on the canopy the space to crawl through will still be small enough that you're likely to get cut on the jagged edges while egressing.

You can see the egress tool on the left side of the cockpit in this photo.

[Pilottonny]

I guess my fire extinguisher will double as a canopy buster.

Regards, Tonny.