"Mike Kanze" wrote...

A-6 tribal folklore during the early 1970s dictated that one NEVER blew the
canopy prior to ejection, for the very reasons you cite.

Better to get Plexiglas cuts than...

Even when I flew it in the 80s through '93, there were MANY "old hands" who
wouldn't even think of blowing the canopy! Off the cat it was a no-brainer, but
even for the times when you had the time to think about it, there were few who
would risk a partial canopy jettison (regardless of whether it would take off
the vertical stab).