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My hypothesis on frozen canopy

 
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mppalmer(at)aol.com
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 17, 2012 6:36 pm    Post subject: My hypothesis on frozen canopy Reply with quote
I didn't hear from anyone with a hypothesis. Maybe no one is reading
the list?

(See my post from Monday, Nov 12, 2012.
forum.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=387708&sid=c50cba13c2d9fb73328013596d
9d409c )

Anyway, I left you clues in my post. I think the pilot side canopy
literally froze.

Remember that strange dry snow that stuck to the Glasair?

img803.imageshack.us/img803/2126/frozencanopy.jpg

I'm hypothesizing that some snow got blown into the top side of the
pilot canopy hinge area.

It either packed in there or melted a bit and refroze. It was that kind
of day, temperature wise.

I did climb on the wing and used the engine oil dipstick to drip some
motor oil on the hinge ends. I don't recall seeing any snow in the
cavities. But then, I wasn't looking for it. And being it's white up
there and snow is white . . . And that it was freezing cold, especially
for someone used to 100 degree temps . . .

If snow got underneath the the backside (or underside) of the hinge, it
might have jammed the hinge, preventing the canopy from opening more
than the inch it did.

Well, we'll never know for sure. When we landed at home base (70ish) I
sprayed lube in the hinge area before trying to open the canopy. I wish
I had tried the canopy first to see if it needed lube. (Henry Ford is
quoted as saying he would never hire a man who salted his food before
tasting it. Guess he was saying how silly it is to act before gathering
data.)

Oh well. Something to keep in the back of your mind in case you can't
get your canopy to open on a snowy day.

Next time, I'll pour some water into the hinge cavity areas to see if
that melts away the problem.

Mike Palmer <><

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gossend(at)gmail.com
Guest
PostPosted: Sat Nov 17, 2012 7:26 pm    Post subject: My hypothesis on frozen canopy Reply with quote
You got figured it out, Mike! If the snow melted and re-freezed to your wheel pants, it surely did the same in that hinge line...and probably in the hinge itself. There was probably quite a bit of residual warmth in that structure from the recently warm cockpit.
Anyway, don't fly in dry snow if you can avoid it. In a plastic airplane like a Glasair the static charge buildup can fry some really expensive avionics. Yep...your light emitting diodes become dark emitting diodes. DED's. Don't ask how I know.
..and it can re-boot your EFIS in IMC, too.
Dick Gossen
N90GG
Glasair III
22 years... (but not counting any more)
On Nov 17, 2012, at 8:35 PM, mppalmer(at)aol.com wrote:

Quote:


I didn't hear from anyone with a hypothesis. Maybe no one is reading the list?

(See my post from Monday, Nov 12, 2012.
forum.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=387708&sid=c50cba13c2d9fb73328013596d
9d409c )

Anyway, I left you clues in my post. I think the pilot side canopy literally froze.

Remember that strange dry snow that stuck to the Glasair?

img803.imageshack.us/img803/2126/frozencanopy.jpg

I'm hypothesizing that some snow got blown into the top side of the pilot canopy hinge area.

It either packed in there or melted a bit and refroze. It was that kind of day, temperature wise.

I did climb on the wing and used the engine oil dipstick to drip some motor oil on the hinge ends. I don't recall seeing any snow in the cavities. But then, I wasn't looking for it. And being it's white up there and snow is white . . . And that it was freezing cold, especially for someone used to 100 degree temps . . .

If snow got underneath the the backside (or underside) of the hinge, it might have jammed the hinge, preventing the canopy from opening more than the inch it did.

Well, we'll never know for sure. When we landed at home base (70ish) I sprayed lube in the hinge area before trying to open the canopy. I wish I had tried the canopy first to see if it needed lube. (Henry Ford is quoted as saying he would never hire a man who salted his food before tasting it. Guess he was saying how silly it is to act before gathering data.)

Oh well. Something to keep in the back of your mind in case you can't get your canopy to open on a snowy day.

Next time, I'll pour some water into the hinge cavity areas to see if that melts away the problem.

Mike Palmer <><









- The Matronics Glasair-List Email Forum -
 

Use the List Feature Navigator to browse the many List utilities available such as the Email Subscriptions page, Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, Photoshare, and much more:

http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?Glasair-List
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