[stevanlcrawford]

Here are some shots of the "taxi-position" canopy latch that I fabricated and installed in my RV-4 just last month (the airplane has been flying for about four years, now). I'd seen a latch mechanism somewhere on this site, and liked it... My particular installation was somewhat more convoluted by virtue of the fact that I'd "reversed" Van's canopy latch installation instructions when I built my airplane (I wanted to PUSH to lock, PULL to unlock the canopy). Also, I wanted someone OUTSIDE the airplane to be able to unlatch the canopy (whether fully closed or in that "taxi-position") by simply actuating the normal canopy-latch lever. Finally, I made the whole thing removable for maintenance purposes down the road. All parts were carved out of standard aluminum stock. The spring and latch-lever are stainless steel (that lever was fun to make!)...

 

[tikicarver]

Nice!
You have any drawings with dimensions of the parts?

 

[stevanlcrawford]

No, I'm sorry to say I didn't draw up any plans. I just grabbed some scrap metal (actually, I started with cardboard) and started carving away. I fabricated the lever latch out of 1/8" stainless steel...with a die grinder, file, and sand paper (!). The bolt is a #5, as I wanted as much "bearing surface" as possible. I was initially concerned whether or not everything would clear the roll cage when the canopy was opened and closed, but that worked out well. NOT shown is the stainless steel pin that I installed through the roll cage...nothing magic there, just drilled a hole and used a cotter key to secure the pin.

 

[Andy Duff]

Canopy Latch

Canopy Latch

This is a link to something similar that shows some of the assembly cross section. I have been using this for about 4 years with no problems yet.

 

[stevanlcrawford]

Thanks, Andy. YOUR latch assembly is the one that I used to fashion my own. Works great!