Sport Pilot Talk

Upon occasion I would hear a squealing sound that was present just behind my head in my Sting S3. It only occurred with airspeeds over 120kts. I did find the spot and could clearly feel air coming in through the canopy seal. Didn't really bother me too much as I didn't fly at this speed often with my old prop. Fast forward to my current configuration with my DUC prop and I was now hitting the "squeal zone" regularly such that it sometimes interfered with radio transmissions, especially when descending. I checked the canopy weatherstripping which was actually in pretty good shape but there was definitely a gap on the semicircle seal running behind me and to the copilot side. I added weatherstripping to the airplane-side of the canopy that mated with the canopy seal and no more squealing. The unfortunate side effect is that the canopy is pretty much 100% sealed and there is no unintended airflow. Flying this summer has reminded me how much I liked the unintended extra vents

The S3 does have air scoops that can create quite a bit of airflow so all is not lost These just create a lot more wind in the canopy vs. the gentle air circulation my leaks used to provide.