Panther Sport Aircraft Forums

Thanks for all the replies. I did open the front a little and the back a bit more than that. It seems to work much better. I will add a little grease the next time and see if that helps even more.

Taper/bevel the pin as Tom indicated. My RV10 had the same challenge and that’s to be expected of a flexible canopy/door. When latching I actually grab the rear rod and pull inward to help guide it.

Today I put a bit of a bevel on the forward surface of the rear top hole and added a small amount of grease in the hole. That further improved latching in that position. You might give that a try ...

I haven't had too much of a problem with that, only a bit. What I do is hold the canopy just above the forward upper hole then put some pressure on the locking handle and slowly pull the canopy down until the front and rear pins engage. That usually works but sometimes I have to fiddle a bit to align the rear pin but hasn't been much of a problem. btw, my top holes are large enough so the pins don't fit real tightly so, if yours are snug, maybe opening up the holes like you suggest might help.

Well, so far, no one has any thought on this. So, my thought is that I will use a step drill bit to open up the taxi position hole aft, and, see if that works. If not, then I will do the same to the Fore. There must be a better way?

Now that I am taxiing to get the feel of the plane, prior to that first flight, I am trying to use the taxi position to keep cool. I have a difficult time locating the right position for both pins, to be able to latch it in that position. I can get it, but it isn't easy. I have some thoughts for making a modification to make this easier, but want to get some input from those who may have already resolved this, thus, keeping me from doing something stupid.

Thanks in advance.

Dan H.

http://pantherbuilder.org/