I have been messing with our canopy latch for WAY too long, and now that it is installed and functional, I thought I'd share the result. I bought a Hendricks Manufacturing canopy latch. It is a right side version, installed upside-down.
I very much disliked the fact that there is no real hard stop or over-center that keeps the latch closed. So, I completely re-engineered the internal handle to provide these functions. I changed the overall range from 90 degrees to 115 degrees to accommodate the geometry of the stock Cozy latch hardware. You can see photos of the external installation, the internal latch handle with a 3D printed prototype, and the SolidWorks model of it here:
http://tinyurl.com/CozyModifiedCanopyLatch
So, now I have it finally working, after one plastic prototype and three aluminum CNC'ed versions. I posted a short video of it in action here. Evidently it was really cold in the hangar, my hands turned blue...
It was a lot of work, but now that it is done, I do like how it works. It is very clean on the outside, and on the inside it is REALLY obvious that it is open or closed. I still have to install the key locking plate and the canopy warning switch, but for now it is off to the anodizer.
