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 2

To open it all the way, you just pull it forward a few inches, then slide it back all the way. The best part is that there is no chance of scratches on any paint and it seems to hold the canopy *very* securely in the half-open position. A pretty amazing piece of engineering. Van's should just include this system as a part of the stock canopy installation. The latch kit only comes with the black plastic parts and that little machined aluminum fitting. I needed a .125" spacer and wanted to use flush screws, so I fabricated some additional plates to go on either side of the latch. To give the whole thing a bit more strength, I made a backing plate out of .063" and added a couple of platenuts. All of the bits and pieces will get black power coated to match everything else in the cockpit, so you won't even notice its there when all's said and done! Super Cool!

Here's a YouTube video I made of the cam and latch system in action:
http://youtu.be/f0BSlcYxU4M
Pretty cool.
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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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