Matt's RV-8 Project



Matt Dralle's RV-8 Project
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Date:  4-14-2013
Number of Hours:  1.00
Manual Reference:  
Brief Description:  Canopy Half-Open Latch System - Part 1

In the RV-8, if you're flying solo and you're all strapped in, it's pretty hard if not impossible to reach all the way back and grab the canopy if it has slide all the back to the fully open position. On Ruby 1.0, I had the little pin-latch arrangement where I drilled a hole in the top of the canopy rail and would turn a knob and pop the pin into the hole which would hold the canopy in the half-open position. Well, most of the time anyway. I found that the vibration would often cause the canopy to jump out of the hole and then it would continue to slide all the way open, all the while dragging that pin along the top of the rail and digging a nice scratch into the power coat. Additionally, it was a little hard to reach around and get too with the belts tightened up.

I knew I was going to have to come up with something different for Ruby 2.0. I wanted something that wouldn't come loose and would scratch the paint under any circumstances. Well, I found a pretty ingenious system from fellow RV-8 builder Mike Zeller. The pictures pretty much tell the story along with my YouTube video of the system in operation. The system has a free spinning cam and a latch that allows the canopy to be fully opened and closed normally. If you open the canopy just past half way, then pull it forward slowly, the cam will line up and fall into the latch perfectly and then will keep the canopy from sliding back any further!

Cont Next Log...
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RV-8 Canopy Half-Open Latch System

RV-8 Canopy Half-Open Latch System

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RV-8 Canopy Half-Open Latch System

RV-8 Canopy Half-Open Latch System

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RV-8 Canopy Half-Open Latch System

RV-8 Canopy Half-Open Latch System

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