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![]() "bildan" wrote Finally, one has to consider the effect of a large jolt of adrenalin when added to Bill's drug cocktail. It's possible that he could have dealt with flying the airplane under non-emergency conditions but not with the stress and adrenalin of an open canopy. The adrenalin theory may be true, but I favor the John Denver type scenario. If you turn around to the left (to turn a fuel valve or close a canopy, you turn to the left, 99.9% of the time. Low to the ground, with clothes and probably some dirt from the floorboards blowing around in your eyes, you have an ideal accident chain continuing onward. -- Jim in NC |
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"bildan" wrote in message
... On Sep 26, 9:38 pm, brian whatcott wrote: Peter Dohm wrote: ... 1) Was the canopy open/unlatched? (It very probably was) 2) Could this happen to an unimpaired pilot? (Obviously yes, since it has happened several times) 3) Could an open/unlatched canopy be prevented, or could the results be mitigated in a cost effective way? (I think so, and think it needs further discussion) As Stealth has pointed out, those canopies appear not to be a fail safe design. One would initially presume that they would only open slightly and maintain a slightly open position in trail, which was true in at lease one instance and might presumably have been true of the test aircraft. However, at least one other example appears to have behaved quite differently and I personally doubt that the difference in shape would need to be much greater than the thickness of a coat of paint to cause a dramatic difference in behavior. I suspect that a safety catch of a type common on the engine hoods of automobiles and placed close enough to the latched position to preclude oscillation, accompanied by the installation of a warning lamp when the canopy is not in its fully latched position, would both mitigate the result of an unlatched canopy and make the occurence less likely. I still would not personally choose a hinged canopy; but those improvements should be sufficient to render my other criticisms nearly moot. Peter Side and forward hinged canopies can lift in the airstream. This would not be a "gee-whiz how could that happen" type of problem. I have reported my own stone-cold sober experience with a side hinge top canopy unlatching at takeoff and I would be surprised to hear of side and front hinged canopies that DON'T lift in the air stream. Accordingly, I think a secondary catch sounds like a very, very sensible idea. You can't imagine how distracting it is 'til you experience it. an inch or two of bobble would be a whole lot less threatening, in my view. Brian W Sailplanes are adopting forward hinged canopies as a safety feature. Any canopy opening system can open inadvertently if not properly latched but the forward hinge system will open less violently than other systems. Regardless of the hinge system, an open canopy is not likely to render an aircraft unflyable. The first priority is to FLY THE AIRCRAFT and deal with the canopy on the ground after a safe landing. Long experience has shown that the biggest hazard of an open canopy in flight is the pilot trying to close the canopy and not flying the aircraft while he's doing it. There's a history of glider accidents with this scenario. Glider pilots are taught to assume an open canopy is trashed, put it out of their mind and fly the glider as an open cockpit aircraft. As a standard part of training, I will have students open the canopy in flight and enjoy a few minutes of open cockpit flying. The point is for them to see that the glider flies just fine with the canopy open so if it opens inadvertently, they aren't panicked. Finally, one has to consider the effect of a large jolt of adrenalin when added to Bill's drug cocktail. It's possible that he could have dealt with flying the airplane under non-emergency conditions but not with the stress and adrenalin of an open canopy. Bill Daniels -------------new post begins--------------- You have fewer choices with the sailplane, because few if any could accept a rearward sliding canopy. Therefore, the front hinged canopy should be a big safety improvement over the side hinged designs--especially with the lower speeds and narrower cabin. Personally, I would still include a safety catch; but the benefit should be far less dramatic. Peter |
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