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Always, always use a check list!

I'm sharing this below as a write up from a friend and fellow RV12 pilot to hopefully save someone's life. After hearing his story verbally I encouraged him to write it up and I would share it anonymously for him with this group.

His write up is very detailed but pales in comparison to when I first heard it over the phone. I can only imagine what it was like with the stall horn blaring in the headset. My request is that you read it and take it to heart. And no need to flame this post as hopefully we all can learn from someone's mistake and not ever commit the same one. At the end of the post I will share a link where another pilot was not so lucky. My friends write up is below:


I am writing this, at the urging of a friend, in the hope that it may prevent serious injury or death to a fellow RV12 pilot. It is anonymous for my own reasons, but mostly because I have beaten myself up enough and don’t wish to expose myself to an onslaught of criticism from the ever present know it all social media experts.

After flying for over 40 years I admit that I had become a little complacent regarding checklists. My complacency was probably even worse in the RV12 because its start-up and operation are so deceptively basic and simple. This is my “take-off with an unlatched canopy” experience to the best of my recollection.

Radio call to alert non-towered traffic that I was taking the active. Line up on the active runway. Flaps set to zero on the day in question. Trim set to neutral, advance power to full throttle, release brakes and start the take-off roll, right rudder to compensate for torque and P-Factor and slight elevator back pressure to bring the nose slightly off the runway and accelerate to flying speed (I don’t really rotate for take-off, I let the plane fly itself off of the runway and then trim for Vy. As soon as the plane came out of ground effect, the canopy popped open (at least a foot). It took a fraction of a second to realize what had happened. In that fraction of a second I lost rudder and elevator authority and the plane pitched down and to the left (looking down I was over the extreme left edge of the runway). I don’t know for sure what happened in the next second or two, I do know that I caught the canopy at about the same time the plane pitched steeply down (about 50’ in the air) and I remember trying to keep the plane from impacting nose first by pulling back on the stick. I was successful in getting the nose up before impact, but the downward momentum carried the main gear to the runway where the starboard main gear carried the brunt of the impact (I don’t remember even touching the runway, but the EFIS G Meter registered an impact of 3.2 Gs).
Because I was still slow, when I bounced and came back out of ground effect, the plane rolled to the right in a low level stall with the right wing nearly on knife edge. Mind you, with both hands full, one with the stick and the other holding the canopy, the throttle was still wide open. When I realized I was still flying, I had enough runway in front of me that I could have landed if I could just retard the throttle. However, the up force on the canopy was significant and I was still holding it, so I attempted to hold the stick with my knees and reach the throttle with my left hand, but could not stabilize the plane with my knees (I think this took my feet off of the rudder pedals). It was at this point that I began making conscious decisions as opposed to reacting. I knew if I climbed steeply enough, even with full throttle, I could slow the plane down, perhaps enough to at least partially close the canopy. With the stall horn blaring, I was able to partially latch the canopy. I released my grip on the canopy handle long enough to retard the throttle to idle and then immediately went back to gripping the canopy latch handle with my right hand. At this point, 400 to 500 feet in the air and still not past the departure end of the runway, I turned the plane for a close downwind return to the runway I had departed from and successfully landed without further incident.

I later spoke to a witness who saw the whole thing from the ground. He said the initial ground impact was violent and that after the bounce, he thought the starboard wing actually hit the ground (it did not) and that I was going to roll inverted. He then thought I remained out of control during the steep climb that I made trying to slow the plane down under full throttle. He said it wasn’t until he saw the plane make a quick turn to downwind that he realized there was not going to be a crash.

I believe I survived by the grace of God and the fact that the RV12 has flaperons. During the low level stall following the bounce, I don’t believe I could have kept the plane from completely rolling over if it weren’t for the fact that the flaperons gave some level of aileron authority.

I am aware that my experience may not jive with what others have experienced or what they believe to be the aerodynamics of an open RV12 canopy in flight. I believe that I was very lucky and that I survived what could have easily been a fatal incident.
I also now believe that it would not have been necessary to climb into a full power stall in order to regain control over the canopy. It is now my understanding that in a cruise configuration the canopy will not open more than a few inches (even hands off), which would have allowed the use of both my hands to control the aircraft. However in takeoff configuration, I believe the combination of air under the canopy pushing up and over the canopy acting to create lift as an air foil, allows it to rise high enough to interrupt air flow over both the rudder and the elevator.

Please learn from me and use your checklist.

End of his write up...

Here is a link to someone who had the same thing happen and was not so lucky.

http://www.kathrynsreport.com/search?q=indiana+rv+12+crash
 
I appreciate you sharing, I never knew the severity of leaving the canopy unlatched. I'm still building but will always remember this story.
With this being a known problem there should be a micro switch giving a warning it's not latched.
 
I appreciate you sharing, I never knew the severity of leaving the canopy unlatched. I'm still building but will always remember this story.
With this being a known problem there should be a micro switch giving a warning it's not latched.

There is. Been available for many years as a retrofit. I’m pretty sure it’s standard in the kit by now.
Cheers DaveH
120485
 
There is a light on my Skyview Touch indicating open or closed and an upgraded latch kit from Vans I added several years ago after talking to Synergy Air at Oshkosh. Vaden said if there is one upgrade to definitely consider its the upgraded latch kit. It allows you to latch the canopy partially open when taxing. Not sure if the 180 has the micro switch and light
 
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Not sure if the 180 has the micro switch and light
There is not, and no real way to add one without it turning into a pretty major project.

After two incidents of finding my canopy not fully latched in flight (yes, I’m a slow learner) I’m pretty religious about checklist use now and downright paranoid about checking the canopy latch.
 
Kudos to the pilot that chose to write this up so others may learn. That takes a lot of guts and humility. I appreciate this, and no matter how much experience you have, we can all learn from it.
 
Red flag

I have a 6 inch red flag hanging on my canopy latch handle until it is locked and then removed.
 
There was at least one other RV-12 accident due to the pilot being distracted by an open canopy. After becoming airborne, the canopy opened. The plane nosed into the runway as the pilot attempted to close the canopy. The plane was significantly damaged, but the pilot walked away.
At a later date, I took off with the canopy unlatched. I realized my mistake when the wind hit my face. I instinctively reached for the canopy handle, but stopped midway up. I remembered reading about the above incident. I lowered my hand and flew the plane. It flies just fine with the canopy open. It might even fly better with the canopy open because the canopy settles into a position with the least amount of drag. :) Anyway, I flew around the pattern, landed and latched the canopy. I later installed Van's new canopy latch and microswitch. Now, if the canopy is unlatched and the airspeed is above 30 knots, an alarm goes off. While taxiing for takeoff, the runway hold-short line is my cue to check the canopy latch.
 
I've done it twice in my RV7, first time was like the 2 or 3rd test flight on the aircraft, certainly got my attention, new airplane and not sure what to expect. However, I kept hearing the infamous words of my instructor: "no matter what happens just FLY the airplane" so that's what I did.

On the 7 the canopy will come open maybe 8-10" and just sit there, so once of the initial shock wore off it was really no big deal.

Did it again years later when I got in a hurry, rain approaching and wanted to get out, I had lowered the canopy because of the rain but did not latch it, big mistake. From then on if I close the canopy all the way it gets latched.
 
I remember the canopy open alert audio on the RV-12 demo flight at Oshkosh. Ill be double sure to incorporate that in my build.
 
in the checklist, have two instructions to latch canopy.... it's never failed me. always use a checklist and never just wing it.

1) before start, latch canopy
2) before runup, latch canopy
 
I strongly agree checklist discipline cannot be over stated. I’m also guilty of taking off twice with the canopy unlatched and fortunately remembered both times to first fly the aircraft and benefited from a well designed aircraft flight control system. The first time there was sufficient runway remaining to land around midfield and taxi to a stop. The second time I slowed down, flew a closed pattern and landed without incident.

What concerns me is reading the op had no control of his elevator and rudder when the canopy came up. That to me seems to be a design concern with a canopy unlatched warning system only a bandaid. The fact that he had to almost stall the aircraft near the ground (approximately 500 ft) to be able to close the canopy and regain some semblance of control also concerns me.

His piloting skills and good fortune saved his life. His canopy checklist error is not uncommon in the tip up canopy world. One shouldn’t have to rely on superior skill, judgement and good fortune to survive a mistake like this.
 
At a later date, I took off with the canopy unlatched. I realized my mistake when the wind hit my face. I instinctively reached for the canopy handle, but stopped midway up. I remembered reading about the above incident. I lowered my hand and flew the plane. It flies just fine with the canopy open. It might even fly better with the canopy open because the canopy settles into a position with the least amount of drag. :) Anyway, I flew around the pattern, landed and latched the canopy. I later installed Van's new canopy latch and microswitch. Now, if the canopy is unlatched and the airspeed is above 30 knots, an alarm goes off. While taxiing for takeoff, the runway hold-short line is my cue to check the canopy latch.

How did the plane respond initially, Joe? Any sudden pitch down?
 
It's one of those things that seems obvious but since so many of us have made this mistake, we just need to keep it into our flow or checklist.

Haven't yet done it on the RV-8 - that would be interesting - but have in just about every other aircraft I've flown. Often the result of something unusual happening just before TO. Also, when flying on a very hot day, we all want to keep things cool as long as possible, and I believe that contributes to missing this item.

Many aircraft have the "doors closed and latched" or "canopy latched" checklist item just before runup, which of course make sense, but if you are sweating like a pig you might say "I'll close it just before takeoff" - now you have changed your flow or skipped a checklist item.

What I have done with my "flight controls free and correct" is added this to my final check before pushing up power for TO, and will also add "canopy latched" just before I take the runway - even on a hot day.

Threads and discussion like this help me keep my head in the game even on days where I don't fly.
 
No, I did not notice any pitch down. Of course I was distracted by the open canopy and might not have noticed minor changes in pitch. I believe that all of the control problems experienced by the pilot in post #1 were caused by his attempt to close the canopy.
 
Before jumping to conclusions, re-read post #9.

Bob, my bad! I apologize to VAF readers and VANS for this too quick posting. I was too taken up with the pilot’s interpretation of his initial flight control characteristics. If the RV12 flys just as well as the 7A with an unlocked canopy, which according to post #9 it does, then my comments are without merit. Thank you for pointing out my grave error.

Here’s a thought, do you think wiring up a auto door switch to the bottom frame where the canopy meets when it’s fully closed and completing the circuit to a small led light on the panel would work for those of us that don’t have an EFIS with a canopy warning system? Do you know whether GRT can support a canopy warning using the analog ports?
 
Here’s a thought, do you think wiring up a auto door switch to the bottom frame where the canopy meets when it’s fully closed and completing the circuit to a small led light on the panel would work for those of us that don’t have an EFIS with a canopy warning system? Do you know whether GRT can support a canopy warning using the analog ports?
It certainly would work, as an indicator light. The advantage to doing it with the EFIS is that the EFIS can alert you (audio and visual) when the canopy is unlatched AND you've exceeded a certain speed or RPM. Otherwise it's on whenever the canopy is unlatched during taxi, etc. Probably not a big deal if it's just an LED.

On the D180 equipped planes, there are two inputs used for warnings. One is used for the spar switches, the other is the stall warning. I looked into a circuit to combine a canopy switch with one of those to give alerts integrated with everything else. My idea was to build a little board that would read the serial data stream from the D180 and cause an alert if the RPMs exceeded 3000 (or pick whatever threshold you want) with the canopy unlatched. That would prevent accidentally leaving it unlatched during runup or takeoff. It was a cool little hobby project that I had a lot of fun designing.

However, once the novelty of the new project wore off I realized it was an elaborate solution to get around my own failure to consistently follow checklists. I decided to fix the root cause and use the checklists rather than slap a technological Band-Aid on it. That has worked for the past several years, and as I'm not getting any younger I figure I should continue with it.
 
I had a passenger close and "apparently" latch my RV12 canopy over six years ago. We flew for about 45min, at this point over Lake Michigan, when it suddenly popped open while we were climbing. Very disconcerting, and proved impossible to close with the aircraft flying. But I didn't notice any effect on aircraft control.

Needless to say, since that experience, its now the pilot who closes and confirms the canopy is properly latched on every flight.
 
Many years ago, while doing the test cards I had the canopy pop open on a 12. I didn’t experience any terribly adverse control issues, but it was a surprise. I was about 5-6 thousand feet and started trying to re-latch it. I found that when I slowed it down to 60 knots or so, I was able to get the canopy guides on the sides lined up and a good pull and twist got it. After that, in addition to the written checklist, I use the acronym CTAF just before advancing the throttle for takeoff.
C-CANOPY
T-Trim
A-Altitude
F-Fuel, selector, level,pressure, flow, pump and Frequency.
 
Do you know whether GRT can support a canopy warning using the analog ports?
If your GRT has a spare contact input, then yes you can connect a canopy open alarm circuit. An alarm that comes on whenever the canopy is unlatched will not do much good. You will get used to it being on and will ignore it. So an airspeed switch is needed to only allow the alarm when airspeed is above 30 knots. Connect a grounded canopy switch and an airspeed switch in series to the GRT input. The canopy switch should be closed when the canopy is unlatched. The airspeed switch should close at 30 knots or faster.
I designed a more complicated circuit for my RV-12 and posted it here:
https://vansairforce.net/community/showthread.php?t=204133
 
I have a little mantra I always go through before takeoff: CIGAR and Ignition, Fuel pump (mine has a switch) and canopy. I do it after run up and stowing the checklist. It’s a final simple check I verbalize before every takeoff.
 
food for thought

I have 2 friends with 12's that have had unlatched canopy take offs. I also have a friend with an RV-9 that took off with an unlatched canopy. Based on conversations with all of the above I think in the 6/7/9 crowd fly the airplane back around and land while ignoring the canopy. For the 12 crowd I'm not sure.

Based on my sample size of 2 first hand accounts in RV-12's from good friends I'm not convinced the 12 is necessarily the same as the other 2 place planes. What has shocked me is that both 12 drivers said that when the plane slows down the canopy lifts up more and more. How far up is anyones guess but both individuals have expressed a nose down pitching moment occurred. Is this from forgetting to fly the airplane and dealing with the canopy or is there some aerodynamic shift at lower speed causing it to lift up? This is significant in my opinion and warrants further observations from first hand account in an RV-12.

I wonder if there is a pitch attitude vs speed where things go off the rails? If the canopy lifts up enough does it reduce rudder/elevator effectiveness or cause drag that pitches the nose down? Is it possible that it changes the CG?

Does anyone else want to chime in that has a first hand account of landing with the canopy open? Were you holding on to the canopy or letting it do what it was going to do?
 
I have 2 friends with 12's that have had unlatched canopy take offs. I also have a friend with an RV-9 that took off with an unlatched canopy. Based on conversations with all of the above I think in the 6/7/9 crowd fly the airplane back around and land while ignoring the canopy. For the 12 crowd I'm not sure.

Based on my sample size of 2 first hand accounts in RV-12's from good friends I'm not convinced the 12 is necessarily the same as the other 2 place planes. What has shocked me is that both 12 drivers said that when the plane slows down the canopy lifts up more and more. How far up is anyones guess but both individuals have expressed a nose down pitching moment occurred. Is this from forgetting to fly the airplane and dealing with the canopy or is there some aerodynamic shift at lower speed causing it to lift up? This is significant in my opinion and warrants further observations from first hand account in an RV-12.






I wonder if there is a pitch attitude vs speed where things go off the rails? If the canopy lifts up enough does it reduce rudder/elevator effectiveness or cause drag that pitches the nose down? Is it possible that it changes the CG?

Does anyone else want to chime in that has a first hand account of landing with the canopy open? Were you holding on to the canopy or letting it do what it was going to do?

This was in the write up in Kathryn's report. And after digging into other accidents that were mentioned in the write up it is my opinion even if you "fly the plane" you may not be able to arrest the decent if the canopy opens during take off and slam into the ground bending your airplane and maybe yourself.

From Kathryn's report below:


While rare, in-flight canopy and door openings have been reported in all models of RVs. Field reports of aircraft flight characteristics both during and after an in-flight opening vary significantly. The most pronounced changes in flight characteristics reported have been related to canopy openings on RVs with tip-up (forward-opening) type canopies, as used on the RV- 6/7/9/12/and 14 models. In most cases these incidents have been minor, but some have had serious consequences.




Field reports indicate that if the canopy does become unlatched in flight, the aircraft will most likely pitch nose down abruptly. The severity of the pitching moment can depend on speed, attitude and weight and balance…Most in-flight openings occur due to the pilot simply forgetting to latch the canopy properly prior to take-off. Latch component wear and maladjustment may also contribute to the likelihood of an in-flight opening.

Builders and operators of RVs with tip-up canopies should pay particular attention to the latching mechanism, and ensure that it operates as designed to secure the canopy. Preflight checks should be made to ensure that the latching mechanism fully engages the canopy frame and that the operating handle is securely retained when closed.

Another accident write up:

https://www.accidents.app/summaries/accident/20130611X55359
 
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You have that right Jim. I clicked on the link in post number 28. It stated, "the pilot lost grip of the canopy when it opened to the full vertical position"
That is not possible. Try opening your car door while going 50 mph. Same principle. Notice that in these accident reports that the pilot was trying to close the canopy. Who was flying the airplane?
 
Unintentionally pulling back on the stick while attempting to close to the canopy can cause the wings to stall, thus resulting in pitch down. If a pilot tries to counteract the pitch down by pulling back on the stick, she will find the elevator ineffective.
 
dumb, again

..and use a checklist also while cleaning up.
Today first day in weeks it was fairly flyable for a passenger (pass #2, 31HRS): pulled the plane outside, fully strapped in, passenger informed about things and flight and sickness bags, turn Master: already turned.
Now what.
You guess what: emptied the Odyssey fully. Euro 180,00 punishment, no-fly this day, tried to ease passengers eagerness, pushing plane back in hangar, wait for a week 'till a new one arrives.
And pull a bag over my head so that people don't recognize me..;-(
 
Your story made me laugh... I used to work with an engineer in Switzerland and one time he made a mistake and apologized saying he had black spot on forehead. Your story is very similar….
 
Glad at least someone is happy with it.
Dunno if I can get the Odyssey beck to life again, though: put a living battery parallel with it and it seems to be loading (the couple does some 11,5 Volts after an hour or so), do you guys think this could work?
(As written, I ordered a new one)
 
Hans

I completely drained my odyssey battery once. Had to put another battery momentarily in parallel to get the charger to work. Well that odyssey went on for another 13 years before I replaced it. It was getting sluggish on frosty winter days but still working.

Worth trying

Regards

Peter
 
I am doing my 9th annual and adding a jumper post on the panel. I’ve always been paranoid about having a dead battery on the road. Also getting rid of my aging Garmin 396/496 for a touchscreen Aera 660. Dragging my 12 kicking and screaming into a new decade!
 
I am doing my 9th annual and adding a jumper post on the panel. I’ve always been paranoid about having a dead battery on the road. Also getting rid of my aging Garmin 396/496 for a touchscreen Aera 660. Dragging my 12 kicking and screaming into a new decade!

So, you're adding an unprotected large gauge wire directly from the battery into the cockpit?
 
Check lists

Well a check list is only as good as the person who is using it.
I have had check lists in the past and seemed to gloss over something only to realize later I really didn't check it.
Took one of my grandsons up for his first flight in my RV. As we are taxiing to the fuel pumps he says """Don't forget to latch the canopy Grandpa"""
You guessed it. It popped open on liftoff and we had a real good laugh after I got it latched.
In My RV-6A I've taken off with the canopy unlatched, No biggy just pitched down after lift off and I applied more elevator, climbed to attitude slowed plane to stall speed and closed and latched it.
The latch system needed some work and I only got around to the rework till after the canopy popped open a few more times.
No crash, no bang, But it gets your attention when cruising 190 mph over mountains.
It is fixed real good now.
Yes, I use check lists and try to be aware of every item.
Art
 
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