Sport Pilot Talk

Here’s the latch on my Sky Arrow:



It has a strong, over center camming action, making it very, very unlikely one might accidentally unlatch it.

The latching mechanism itself is two pins on the canopy that are secured by two securing pins passing through them.

Of course, none of that counts for much if you forget to latch it!

Having an unlatched canopy in a Sportcruiser or a Bristell is just a mild inconvenience.It is not a big deal!
I have had it happen to me many times during 6years of Sportcruiser ownership and 18months of Bristell ownership. The first rule is don't panic, stay calm, just throttle back to around 70-80knots and fly the pattern slowly and land normally. At this slow speed the canopy will just sit at around 1-1.5 inches open maximum.
It is the guys who panic, who try and close the canopy, don't reduce speed, get totally distracted and lose control of the aircraft then make a bad landing that come unstuck.

AlanR wrote:I have had it happen to me many times during 6years of Sportcruiser ownership and 18 months of Bristell ownership.

Did these plane come with a CHECKLIST? I can see it happening once, but you state MANY TIMES. This is concerning.