Canopy latch for taxi

[Doug from Mel Bch]

Was watching a Youtube of an RV4 by a guy who goes by acam37….he had an actuator they held his canopy partially open for taxi……does anyone have any info on this set-up? Thanks…

 

[rabthe4th]

Hey Doug - Dayton Murdock has fabricated a pretty cool "canopy holder" featured in a KitPlanes article authored by Paul Dye a couple years ago. I'm building a -4 in Reno and when I hit Dayton up for a few of his t-quadrants, I'll ask if I may also buy one of his holders or get the specs to fabricate. The holder is manual and not electrically actuated, I believe. Cheers

 

[Taltruda]

Hey Doug - Dayton Murdock has fabricated a pretty cool "canopy holder" featured in a KitPlanes article authored by Paul Dye a couple years ago. I'm building a -4 in Reno and when I hit Dayton up for a few of his t-quadrants, I'll ask if I may also buy one of his holders or get the specs to fabricate. The holder is manual and not electrically actuated, I believe. Cheers

Post a link or a picture.. I’m interested in it too!!

 

[Dean Pichon]

I've been looking for the "perfect" canopy (taxi) hold-open feature for my -4. for years. I have been collecting ideas from posts on this site (and others) as well as photos from fly-ins. Soon, I hope to find a design that meets my needs so I can get building. In the meantime, feel free to peruse the attached collection. If I've missed any, please share so I can update my file!

Thanks,

 

[Flying EMT]

I have one like pictures 12 and 20 in Dean's post. Works fairly good for taxing etc. I make sure its engaged before letting go of canopy.

 

[Roadjunkie1]

I believe this has been discussed before. Did you search it? Wow! Whatever that is in post #4 looks like part of a bridge!

Here's mine. Simple. Easy. Works VERY well. There is nylon behind all the holes. Similar bracket on the aft section of the canopy frame but I don't have a picture of that. Guess I never look back there..... There is a bend in the rod on the aft hold-down rod to make it center on the bracket.

 

[RV7 To Go]

This is what I had on my 4. I stole the idea from someone else whose solution is pictured. The upper slot was the hold open for taxi and the lower slot was a secondary latch for the middle of the canopy. I didn't have room for a second hole in the panel or rear bulkhead due to the outboard location of the latch rod, but this idea worked great and was also simple. Hope the photos show up.

 

[rabthe4th]

Dayton Murdock's RV-4 canopy holder. Kitplanes, 6/6/2014. Paul Dye, author.

 

[HFS]

My $.02 ...

The "Gate Latch" on my Rocket.

HFS

 

[fixnflyguy]

While these pics are a bit hard to understand, Pat Hatch built this one for his RV-4 many years ago. I still haven't done it on mine after 14 years of flying it, but the mechanism is fully connected to the "per plans" locking rods, yet articulates a pin into the rollbar cross bar at the partial open point. Operation is entirely through the canopy lock handle and can be done from inside or outside. Pat also installed a keyed lock for security. It involves a few moving pieces, but requires no turning around or reaching over shoulder.

 

[Roadjunkie1]

Found a photograph of what she looks like on the ground with the canopy in "ground/taxi" position.....

 

[Dean Pichon]

My $.02 ...

The "Gate Latch" on my Rocket.

HFS

Hi HFS,

I like this design. Do you know if drawings exist or a source of supply exists?

Regards,

Dean

 

[HFS]

That was my DIY I designed back in 1985 for my first -4. Basically a gate "latch" concept, in that the "engage" operation was simply to let the canopy down until the (extra) lock arm pin contacted the sloping pivot arm, which then slid back until the lock arm pin fell into the receiver slot, and then gravity made the pivot arm go back to its original position - locking the canopy from moving up or down. To disengage - simply pull back on the canopy lock arm handle until the lock pin cleared the latch.

It was designed so the open height just allowed clearance of the forward/aft canopy lock arms to clear the fuselage - no extra holes, or trying to engage one while still trying to taxi the airplane after landing on rollout.

SolidWorks would be great for developing something like this; but, back in the day, all I had was my drafting arm & some Velum ...

HFS

 

[Tdeman]

I believe this has been discussed before. Did you search it? Wow! Whatever that is in post #4 looks like part of a bridge!

Here's mine. Simple. Easy. Works VERY well. There is nylon behind all the holes. Similar bracket on the aft section of the canopy frame but I don't have a picture of that. Guess I never look back there..... There is a bend in the rod on the aft hold-down rod to make it center on the bracket.

Same setup I have in mine, works great.

 

[climbak]

My $.02 ...

The "Gate Latch" on my Rocket.

HFS

Do you have photos of the other side of your latch? Looks simple enough to make one up. I assume you added in an extra center locking pin to the main front and rears pins.

 

[HFS]

Hi HFS,

I like this design. Do you know if drawings exist or a source of supply exists?

Regards,

Dean

Sorry Dean about not getting back to you sooner - the short answer is no drawings. I basically modeled it after the gate "latches" we all have on our backyard fence. Most of the "design" (if you can call it that) is about getting the slope on the top face of the pivot arm to be user friendly with the lock pin as it comes down with the closing of the canopy. Too shallow a slope and the lock pin won't slide along it, too steep and the pivot arm doesn't go back far enough for the pivot pin to "fall" into a locking position. And then there's "gravity", the pivot arm needs to have enough weight away from the pivot point to make sure that it will fall "closed" after the lock pin falls into its receiver in the main frame of the latch.

Best - David

 

[Dean Pichon]

Sorry Dean about not getting back to you sooner - the short answer is no drawings. I basically modeled it after the gate "latches" we all have on our backyard fence. Most of the "design" (if you can call it that) is about getting the slope on the top face of the pivot arm to be user friendly with the lock pin as it comes down with the closing of the canopy. Too shallow a slope and the lock pin won't slide along it, too steep and the pivot arm doesn't go back far enough for the pivot pin to "fall" into a locking position. And then there's "gravity", the pivot arm needs to have enough weight away from the pivot point to make sure that it will fall "closed" after the lock pin falls into its receiver in the main frame of the latch.

Best - David

Hi David,

Thanks for the reply. Disappointed to hear no drawings. If you can post some photos from additional angles, I'm sure many would appreciate the opportunity to reverse engineer your design.

Regards,

Dean

 

[HFS]

Hi David,

Thanks for the reply. Disappointed to hear no drawings. If you can post some photos from additional angles, I'm sure many would appreciate the opportunity to reverse engineer your design.

Regards,

Dean

I will - thx