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 Bob Pustell on May 8, 2013 at 2:45pm

Nice job on staying focused on the primary job -- fly the airplane!

A secondary latch of some type is certainly a good idea, especially if you have the original 601XL latching system. I plan to fit the 650 latch system to my XL when I build that part of the plane, several people have done this already. I ALSO plan to have a secondary latch, just to be sure.

Try to design and install a secondary system that is easy and fast to unlatch. You do not want a cumbersome, slow process in case you need to exit the aircraft rapidly. I sometimes fly a friend's 601XL and his secondary latches (one on each side, adapted from window latch hardware) works very nicely but it takes two hands, some practice and some patience to unfasten it. Speed sometimes matters. My tentative design involves a single rope or strap from the rear canopy bow that is secured into a cleat or bracket between the occupant's shoulders with some type of quick release connection. This is not a final design but I believe several folks have variations of that idea already in use.

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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