Southern Ontario Sonerai 1

[eschrom]

Yes, I think that's true but something about a go-around or touch-and-go makes it worse than, say, the first takeoff roll. Heat buildup under the cowling is the only difference I can think of. I've completely re-engineered my engine cooling (not necessarily for this reason) and hope to test fly it soon. We'll see what happens.

 

[Steve Stephenson]

Thanks Ed. Let me know how you make out. I have a small modification I can make to my air intake (NACA scoop) on the underside of the forward cowl to dump some cooler air into the vicinity of the carb (which is odd in a way because we are mandated to have carb heat in Canada - lol).

 

[Steve Stephenson]

Happy to report that since the wing realignment, all the nastiness is gone. I'm enjoying a rock solid platform.

 

[Steve Stephenson]

I was out flying this morning, thankfully close to my home airport, when my canopy separated from the aircraft. Popped right off. Gone. Fastest open cockpit work I've ever done. The aircraft was not damaged and I was able to land it without further incident. My ball cap was lost and my headset ended up in the turtleneck compartment behind the seat. I'll see if the canopy is recovered by a resident. I was 1000 ft AGL at the time. Naturally this is very stressful for my family so I will be selling the aircraft. All it needs is a canopy. I will post another notice in the classifieds.

 

[eschrom]

Jeez, that's terrible! Glad you made it down ok. Did you forget to latch it or did the bubble separate from the skirt?

Ed

 

[Steve Stephenson]

Separated from the skirt. I contacted Airplane Plastics about a replacement since they made more than one when they made mine. Obviously, if I go that route, the canopy mounting system will be modified so this never happens again. I'm kicking myself because the solution will be simple and probably should have seen this coming. Although, previous flights were A-OK. I shared the story to encourage people to check the canopy attachment points whatever they may be.

It will probably take a while to sell, so I'll be doing more flying in it which is the up side of this.

 

[eschrom]

How many fasteners were there? Mine has #6 screws every two inches, according to plans, but you can bet both they and the lexan will receive a thorough inspection before the next flight.

 

[Steve Stephenson]

Do it but I'm sure all is fine Ed.

In my case, the plexi was friction-fit between two rivetted, and shaped pieces of aluminum. This was very very tight and secure. The rear edge of the canopy flashing provided a "lock" when it is fully secured and screwed down. This was the original configuration and I figured it was fine.

I installed a new canopy but have concluded that the "locking" aspect of my installation of the rear flashing must have been lacking and provided enough play for canopy movement to the rear or possibly to flex upward. Ultimately, the canopy was in such a position during flight that it was able to flex and lift right off of the aircraft. Any slippage was not visible under the aluminum flashing over the course of the first few flights. I also did not see any scuff marks on the forward part of the canopy that may have indicated such slippage was occurring. Redundancy would have been to add screws along the bottom edge during my installation. This is what will be added as I go through the entire assembly again and - yes - test fly it.

I would also like to add a small note about the importance of a control check during my emergency. Although unlikely, I could not be certain that the canopy did not collide with the tail. I performed a control check to verify that control inputs were as expected before proceeding with let down. My goal was not to find out during a turn that something was wrong.

Post flight inspection did not indicate any collision with the tail or any damage to the aircraft of any kind.

It would be nice to think that the canopy ended up in someone's pool - but I doubt it. It's probably on the roof of a factory.

 

[Steve Stephenson]

The other canopy that Jeff made at Airplane Plastics is now on its way.

 

[Steve Stephenson]

The above-mentioned canopy arrived a couple of days ago. The first stage (refining the length) of fitting the new canopy occurred today. The original (mutilated, greenish) canopy was used as a pattern. You'll see that it was cut in half. This was so that it was easier to ship to Jeff at Airplane Plastics for him to use as a pattern as well. He shipped it back with the first replacement canopy. I used a Dremmel set to 12000 RPM and a fiberglass cutting wheel. Masking tape was used to define the cut line. Once cut, sharp edges were filed by hand with a very fine set of files.

 

[Steve Stephenson]

Jeff at Airplane Plastics in Ohio just finished the canopy for the S1. Will be shipped next week. He made more than one - so if anyone needs one, it's in on the shelf.

This is so ironic that I was the customer for both canopies.

 

[Steve Stephenson]

Back in business.

 

[Aviacs]

No need to sell it now!

 

[Steve Stephenson]

The office.