When Ken Cottle built my plane he put a thin and bendable piece of aluminum with a slot in it that slides down over a bolt head screwed into the top longeron. Although I have often forgotten to put my seat belt on or turn on the transponder or committed other oversights when taking off, I've yet to forget to latch the canopy so in seven years of flying 335KC this feature hasn't so far had to do its job. It's a nice simple device that backs up the other two latches - one passive and one that requires actually latching the thing. I've also taped a little note to the canopy frame in front of my face that says "Canopy Locked?". If anybody wants a picture of this safety latch send me an email.
A front-hinged canopy would be very nice though for lots of other reasons. I'm watching Mark's redesign of Jim Faughn's canopy with great interest. Mike Stirewalt KSEE ____________________________________________________________ How to Sleep Like a Rock Obey this one natural trick to fall asleep and stay asleep all night. http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/51b8b59c64182359c5441st02vuc
