COZY III - Page 31

Cozy III
Pilot’s Operating Handbook Page 31
configuration are known to have occurred. The recommended
procedure is as follows: Wear a life jacket for over water flying.
On descent, bend the safety catch away but do not open the
canopy. Extend the nose gear. Touch down should be at
minimum speed, landing into the wind. Land on the back side of
a swell or parallel to the swells. The aircraft or major components
of the aircraft should float and support the occupants and
equipment due to the large amounts of structural closed-cell
foam.
IN-FLIGHT CANOPY OPENING
Canopy opening in flight is a serious emergency. It has not yet
happened with a COZY, but has happened to other aircraft of
similar configuration. With the canopy unlatch warning system
and the safety catch, the likelihood of a canopy opening in flight
is remote. However, should the canopy open to the safety catch,
the aircraft is still controllable. Reduce airspeed to minimize wind
blast and return and land.
Should the canopy open fully in flight, immediately grab the
canopy handle and pull the canopy down. If assistance is
available to fly the aircraft, use both hands to lock the canopy;
otherwise, hold the canopy down with one hand and FLY the
aircraft down to a safe landing with the other. The aircraft is
controllable and can be landed safely with the canopy being held
down with one hand. REMEMBER: Maintain control of the
aircraft! Do not be so concerned with trying to lock the canopy
that you allow the aircraft to fly into the ground unnecessarily.
LANDING GEAR FAILURES
Since only the nose gear retracts, and it's actuation system is so
simple, failure to extend or retract properly is highly unlikely. A
far more likely failure is the pilot forgetting to extend the gear.
Should you find yourself in the landing flare or even rolling along
on the mains at 50 knots or more, you can easily hold the nose
off to make a go-around or even extend the gear at that point. If
you just can't avoid landing gear up, hold the nose off for as long
(and slow) as practical, and then fly the nose gently to the
runway. Avoid a nose-high canard stall, allowing the nose to
drop hard to the runway. It is good practice on the landing roll-
out to glance at the nose gear handle (or window) to verify that
the gear is down before the canard stops flying.
Damage from landing gear-up should be minor and easi-ly
repaired. If you have your choice of landing on known smooth