Onex Canopy Latch

[13brv3]

Scott,

In your photo that shows your latch block sitting on the square rail, what did you do about the rivets that are supposed to be on the top of that square tube? To attach the square tube to the corner weldment, I suppose the block attachment screws or rivets would probably take the place of those frame rivets, so maybe they can be omitted or removed.

I took a first look at fitting my latch today, and I'm probably going to defer the latch installation until sometime in the future. I don't want to attempt to drill out those two frame rivets with the canopy installed, and I'm not removing the bubble just for this. I considered milling the bottom of the latch block to clear those rivet heads, but it would come too close to the threaded holes in the block. The next problem is that one of the block holes conflicts with frame rivets, so you couldn't drill that hole without hitting the existing rivet. I'll have to continue to ponder this, while wisely resisting anything that might compromise a flying plane.

Adding the latch during initial canopy frame construction would have been the way to go for sure. In that case, I'd put one rivet on the top of the square tube in that corner, positioned so it aligns with the hole that's already in the bottom of the block. Next I'd add the two screws horizontally through the block and frame. With any luck, I'll never have the opportunity to do it that way.

Cheers,
Rusty

[Scott Todd]

Sorry Rusty. I didn't built the original canopy and I don't remember if there were rivets there or not when I did the handle. If there were rivets there, I would not have hesitated to drill them out.

[WaiexN143NM]

Hi all,
Just finished the condition inspection on my legacy waiex here in tucson. added peters canopy latch.
love it. a few comments. take your time to fit the block ontop of rail. take the latch apart, put the small link arm onto the canopy rail handle. simulate full clsd. line up the fwd hole in small link to center of hole in main body. mark location . mark shaft hole. mark 3 holes for bottom main body. these are all custom fit. i added one more 1 /8 hole in the bottom main body , so i used 2 ccp-44 plus one screw . the screw peter supplied was too short- 1”. i used a stainless countersunk phillips screw 8-32 1 1/4. and nyloc nut. i used a special plastic drill (ace hardware) to drill thru
canopy , then a unibit to open up for shaft. upon assembly first time the clip on shaft (3 screws) inside would not slip onto shaft groove. i sanded the inner red plastic piece on the outside handle down about 1/16. everything now fit.
positive over center and locking . hole on outside push pin is for a lock. works very smooth!
quality of product excellent! i never liked the fact you couldnt open canopy from the outside if locked.
thanks peter! and all your most excellent sonex products!

for onex install a little different. peter on his website advises needs one more part and slight mod.

WaiexN143NM
Michael

[Tnhelm]

Because of my OneX throttle position, at my suggestion, Peter developed an aft mount for his latch to fit on my OneX. It works perfectly, the operation of my unit is posted on his website. I like it because it is closer to the trailing edge of the wing, more easily accessible from the outside and providing a convenient handle for opening/closing the canopy. He also designed a lever to help release the latch from the inside with my right hand in a one hand operation.
Excellent and positive locking product, well worth the cost.
Tom Helm
OneX 0137

[13brv3]

That looks interesting Tom. I still have his front latch sitting in a box because the mounting block interferes with the rivets on my particular frame. I imagine many of the parts are the same, so I can probably get just the changed parts if that will work. Can you post a few pictures of the installed latch so I can see more details than what's shown in the 11 sec clip? If he already has the pics posted and I didn't see them, you could just point me toward them.

Thanks,
Rusty

[Scott Todd]

An update on my latch after two years use. The 3D printed parts are disintegrating. The Phoenix summer heat is just getting to them. Its still functional but I think it needs some updating. I really like the new latch. The big red handle seems easier than the button. I think it needs to be machined from aluminum square tube stock. It could then be anodized. I know it adds to the cost but I think it would be worth it :) We work on airplanes here in the winter so maybe I'll make that the Onex project of the year.

[13brv3]

I wonder what material he uses for the 3D printing? Some choices would be much better than others for withstanding the elements. Everything I've printed for my plane is PET-G, and so far it's holding up well, better than the landing gear :-)

Rusty

[Tnhelm]

When I initially installed, due to the curvature of the OneX canopy, during trial fitting, the shaft of the latch handle appeared it might be to short. So I shaved off a bit of the outside handle pivot point. That provided some clearance between the handle and the canopy, not a bad thing to reduce the friction against the canopy. However after final assembly, it appeared that shaving may not have been necessary.
Also, I recently upgraded the canopy alignment pin to a longer and bigger diameter, available from Sonex, because the original plans fabricated pin became loose. It is imperative that the alignment pin be solid and engaged to prevent the canopy slipping back and potentially unlatching even with the locking mechanism engaged.

[13brv3]

Thanks for the pictures Tom. I might ask Peter about the difference in parts, and consider buying what I'd need to convert my uninstalled handle to the rear.

Rusty