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Canopy opening in flight



 
 
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  #11  
Old August 27th 18, 02:06 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
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Default Canopy opening in flight

On Sunday, August 26, 2018 at 11:05:16 PM UTC-5, 2G wrote:
On Sunday, August 26, 2018 at 4:35:35 AM UTC-7, Tom wrote:
Anyone know of an occurrence of a forward hinged canopy that opening in flight? Any possibility of this happening if the forward hinged canopy was unlocked on a flight?

Thanks Tom


Definitely. DG canopies have a single locking pin which can't be closed in flight once unlocked. I have had this happen to me. Another local pilot had it happen in a DG400; a wind gust blew the canopy open and twisted sideways, bending the mechanism. You can't depend upon wind pressures keeping it closed.

Tom


I'm embarrassed to admit that I did open the canopy on my ASW24 many years ago to free a pinched pee tube. There were no problems at all, just a slight and steady push to the closed position. I guess I lifted the canopy by about 4-6" in the back. I must have used one hand to hold the canopy and the other to pull on the tube. You guessed it: nobody was flying the glider.
Herb
  #12  
Old August 27th 18, 03:50 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Jonathan St. Cloud
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Default Canopy opening in flight

On Monday, August 27, 2018 at 6:06:44 AM UTC-7, wrote:
On Sunday, August 26, 2018 at 11:05:16 PM UTC-5, 2G wrote:
On Sunday, August 26, 2018 at 4:35:35 AM UTC-7, Tom wrote:
Anyone know of an occurrence of a forward hinged canopy that opening in flight? Any possibility of this happening if the forward hinged canopy was unlocked on a flight?

Thanks Tom


Definitely. DG canopies have a single locking pin which can't be closed in flight once unlocked. I have had this happen to me. Another local pilot had it happen in a DG400; a wind gust blew the canopy open and twisted sideways, bending the mechanism. You can't depend upon wind pressures keeping it closed.

Tom


I'm embarrassed to admit that I did open the canopy on my ASW24 many years ago to free a pinched pee tube. There were no problems at all, just a slight and steady push to the closed position. I guess I lifted the canopy by about 4-6" in the back. I must have used one hand to hold the canopy and the other to pull on the tube. You guessed it: nobody was flying the glider.
Herb


More than once when flying a Grob 103 from back seat with owner or another line pilot they would open the front canopy a few inches to ventilate the hot air out. I was told I could do that and how, but not my glider and I like flying there, so I will not try that. I found in a piper seneca the door pops open an inch or two but can't close it in flight. In an MD500 helicopter, you would have to come to a hover for someone to get a door closed which is why I CLOSED all the doors on the 500 EVERY TIME , even when a gruff high pilot told me he was competent enough to close his own door, he wasn't. Important point here, fly the aircraft. I also witnessed a mishap when the door came open on a Beach Baron (pops open a few inches and stays there) but this "pilot" declared and emergency and then came back and landed hard enough to do real damage to the landing gear and close both runways, right on the intersection. I was surprised as panicked as he was that he did not leave a smoking hole.
  #13  
Old August 27th 18, 04:00 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
kirk.stant
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Default Canopy opening in flight

On Sunday, August 26, 2018 at 4:35:35 AM UTC-7, Tom wrote:
Anyone know of an occurrence of a forward hinged canopy that opening in flight? Any possibility of this happening if the forward hinged canopy was unlocked on a flight?

Thanks Tom


No issues in the LS6, at least during tow. Mine has a tendency to mis-locate the locking pins if I rush a takeoff (yeah, blame the glider.. ;^), and it's no big deal to slow down after release and lock the canopy correctly. As a precaution I only unlock and relock one release at a time, but I doubt even that precaution is necessary.

Grob-103 canopy latches are evil. Had a rear one start to open on me during the takeoff during a ride (I was flying from the back with the pax in front) and managed to grab it before it opened more than an inch or two, but single handed on tow could not latch it or force it closed. Had the pax release at a safe altitude and flew a no-spoiler approach, then closed it on rollout to use the brakes to stop. In retrospect I could have tried slipping at low speed to close it inflight, but I don't plan on having to do it again (but of course, you just can't trust gliders...)

Kirk
  #14  
Old August 28th 18, 07:26 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
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Default Canopy opening in flight

I saw a 1-34 pilot who got a bit rushed during take-off. The canopy flew open and broke but stay attached. The pilot lost his hat and glasses but landed without incident. Like Mark M, I took off with my Pegasus canopy unlatched and heard some rattling. I'm not sure how I screwed that up. The glider was new to me and I think the closed position was opposite of the club's Grob Twin or L23? Most of my previous flights were in an ASW 15 with a completely different latching system. Latching the Peg canopy once off tow was simple. Lesson learned.
 




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