I had one of THESE
https://www.dropbox.com/s/210gcqm9kek38oj/Canopy%20Breaker.jpg?dl=0
mounted in the jets I flew in the USAF.Â* The Type Certificate Data Sheet
for the Stemme requires a canopy breaker tool and my ship did not come
with one.Â* They make much smaller, lighter, and less expensive tools for
cars.

On 5/10/2019 2:30 PM, Steve Koerner wrote:
I'm hypothesising about a certain risk scenario that could happen: landing somewhere or crashing somewhere and canopy won't open. If it's hot especially, one might not last long enough for help to arrive if summoned by phone or radio.

My question is how to get through a canopy that's stuck or has a broken latch mechanism. Maybe someone has had relevant experience with this issue?

An obvious possibility might be to grab the window and try to tear the plexiglass apart (after donning kevlar gloves perhaps). I don't have a good intuition as to whether that is possible or not. Has anyone ever done that or does anyone maybe have access to a junk canopy to try it on? Another possibility is to carry a small saw or some other tool. Are there any specific tools that you know will work effectively on canopy plexiglass yet are compact enough to stash in a tight cockpit (there's no room to carry a hammer)?

--
Dan, 5J