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Bavafa

Well Known Member
My plane is down for another week while my ADI is being repaired and as in between, I am considering installing a switch that would show if my tip-up canopy is not fully closed and was wondering if any one has done this so I don't reinvent the wheel.
I was thinking of installing a couple of miniature momentary push-button switch in series that would be installed near the roll bar (on each side) that gets pushed to close when the canopy is all the way down, connected to a LED on the panel.

All thoughts are welcome?

Thanks in advance & Happy holidays
 
I did the same

Almost but as I know bright sunlight will wash out just about any light I decided to use a cheap buzzer from Radio Shack instead.

My limit switch is placed under the forward part of the canopy such that the arm of the canopy depresses the switch about 2" above the closed point.

It has saved me draining the battery a coupe of times..

But of course if one were to use a checklist then the need would never be there..But just in case..:)

Frank
 
Bavafa said:
I was thinking of installing a couple of miniature momentary push-button switch in series that would be installed near the roll bar (on each side) that gets pushed to close when the canopy is all the way down, connected to a LED on the panel.

All thoughts are welcome?

Thanks in advance & Happy holidays
Click to expand...

Yes, two switches needed....... The first one says the canopy is in the down position. The second switch, wired in series would tell you that the latch is in locked position.

EDIT...... Do what Roee did on the post above mine. I like that. And it can be done just fine with just one switch.
 
Last edited:
gasman said:
Yes, two switches needed....... The first one says the canopy is in the down position. The second switch, wired in series would tell you that the latch is in locked position.
Click to expand...

A single switch can be used to detect both that the canopy is closed AND that the latch is locked. See link in my previous post.

Two switches needed though, one for left and one for right side. In the ideal world, one side would suffice. But in reality there is enough flexibility in the canopy frame that it could potentially be down and locked on one side and not the other, in which case we'd want the canopy warning light to remain lit.
 
The RV4 was much simpler in installation, but we used a switch similar to the one in Roee's post. We used a single pole double throw (SPDT) switch and a bi-color LED so that it shows red when open and green when closed. We also put a tiny machine screw with a double nut through the actuator arm so that it has a highly sensitive adjustment.
 
Thanks all, I was thinking of some thing in line with what Roee has done but with a different type switch, but I like his better and found a switch at Mcmaster. It will be a STDT-NC. I do not see a simple STDT will work as it needs to be a momentary type switch.

Roee, do you remember what type of switch you used?

Thanks again and happy holidays
 
Mehrdad, the type of switch I used is momentary SPDT, i.e. it's a 3-terminal device: one common, one normally open, and one normally closed. So you can wire it however you choose.

It's a common form factor available from many different manufacturers and many different ratings. You can spend $100+ on some high-current, environmentally sealed, aerospace temp rated part from Honeywell... or you can spend $1 on a commercial grade part from China... or anything in between. The cheap stuff is fine for this application.

Some part numbers here:
http://www.kalinskyconsulting.com/rvproj/parkingbrake.htm#20070722_switches

Happy holidays,
-Roee
 
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