Posted by Bob Grimstead on Tuesday, May 29, 2012 @ 08:49 AM:
Hi Guys,
There have been recent comments on the 'Engines' thread about canopies coming open.
The most common cause of this is that the little, tiny chamfered pin ahead of the rotating main canopy latch is missing, and therefore the latch is not locked. This pin is made from a small bolt, with a nut brazed on to its shaft, the head cut off and the tail end cut at a diagonal. Small, easy, but too often forgotten.
See the following tale. Sorry I can't find the original electronic Word file, so you'll have to make do with this scan of a print-out. Enjoy. Yours, Bob
--------------------
Posted by eugenio on Tuesday, May 29, 2012 @ 03:22 PM:
But the story is not finished here! After a while the pilot (always the same) went back again to Kirn to get his RF3. Other Italian people offered to help him to take the motorglider home, so as the Germans that had to come to the Italian meeting a couple of week after, but the proud pilot denied any help thinking to be able to do everything by himself, so he went there with only a new GPS, without charts or else. He took off all alone to get home, but while on the way the GPS shoot off, so he didn't know where he was. He was near a big airport (i don't remember if Frankfurt or Stuttgard) but not knowing which airport was he also did not know the frequency, so he landed without calling the tower with airliners that had to abort their landing or their takeoff waiting for him to free the pattern and the landing area. After that exploit he was prohibited by the German authorities to fly anymore in Germany. He then discouraged and near to a divorce (imagin his wife ....) decided to destroy the RF3, he called me telling he was going to Kirn, where the RF3 was again flown, with a motorsaw to cut the aircraft in small pieces.
I then offered to buy the aircraft at a good price and went there after a couple of week with a friend to keep it. Now it sits in our Hangar in Envie with a new canopy and still flies (not too much indeed at the moment due to taxes and lack of pilots).
Eugenio
Posted by Bob Grimstead on Thursday, May 31, 2012 @ 10:27 AM:
Thanks Eugenio,
That's a great ending to a very interesting story.
Yours, Bob
--------------------
Posted by eugenio on Thursday, May 31, 2012 @ 04:22 PM:
No, this is the demonstration of how people can do stupid things just for proud.....
Eugenio
