7 July, 2020
CANOPY LATCH
Completed project
Because the Confluence is a somewhat different plane, I decided to continue the thread of using different solutions for basic problems. For example how to (un)lock the canopy. I wanted to avoid something sticking out of the top of the fuselage, or a pulling wire somewhere “hidden” under the wing. Or needing an additional tool to move a hidden slider somewhere. The goal for me was not to make something invisible but to have something different and good looking (to me). The flush doorhandles on some of these expensive cars gave me the idea. The handle is first pushed in on one end to start the movement and then pulled out on the other side to complete the unlocking action.
The result can be seen in the pictures below. The latch cover was milled out of the fuselage with a 0.5mm mill and then glued in place again after the mechanism had been installed. It was crucial to ensure that the gap was consistent all around, I think I almost succeeded. A big gap is not ugly, but a gap of varying size is. the mechanism itself is almost completely 3D-printed.
