Zenith 601 XL canopy opened during the flight

Has anyone had the canopy of 601 XL open during the flight ??

My canopy opened in flight at 1500' at 100 kts early this month (May 2013). The aircraft dived towards the land and was hard to control. The canopy stayed up in the air and I could not pull it down. I slowed down to 60 kts and droped down to 500' just in case I had to land on the beach. All the items got sucked out from the back including my head phones. I turned back to the airport, about 2 miles. I  could not communicate with any one so I had to be carefull of other trafic in the circuit. It was hard to see forward due to high wind. I managed to land the aircraft safely.

Since this episode, I have install a safety belt so the canopy can not open if the latches are opened or fail.

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Comment by Shafid Khan on May 8, 2013 at 4:32am
Yes I have the 701 and trying to sell it. I shall miss the 701.
Comment by Ian McClelland on May 8, 2013 at 4:06am
Hi Shafid. I have heard this happening before, thankfully not to me!. I plan to install a lock to prevent the canopy handle being accidentally opened due to turbulence.
Do you still have the 701?

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