Open Canopies in flight?

It’s hot as fuck in the summer here in AZ, you’re dang right I’m gonna bust that window open. Most times piston aircraft do not have AC, and it gets toasty inside that aluminum can. With those bubble canopies it acts as a greenhouse and makes it miserable. It really doesn’t affect performance, it will perhaps shave a couple knots off cruise speed but that’s about it.

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This.

Prop planes can do it, you wouldn't want to open the canopy on a modern fighter in flight, that would hurt and probably burn you.

>look at all that acreage ahead of the pilot. that long ass fuselage that's potentially longer than the pilot is tall (twice over)... that's the engine.

No it isn't. The R2800 is a big engine, to be sure, but it's still only about 7' long and the pilot is separated from the engine by the main fuel tank.

While some aircraft may have been heated by their engines, it got hot inside an aircraft mainly because without any air circulation the cockpit is essentially a greenhouse. Pilots still wore insulated clothing in most theaters.

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Prepare to die as a bug goes through you're skull

no, you are a skull.

No you'rnt a skull

That's not how canopies work, but ok.

Bullshit

>that long ass fuselage that's potentially longer than the pilot is tall (twice over)... that's the engine.
It's about 1/3 engine, 1/3 fuel tank, and 1/3 other stuff.
>A radiator would have been excess weight.
Except for nearly every non-radial engine was liquid-cooled and had a radiator. Even radials would still have smaller radiators for cooling their oil. The F4U's are located in the wing roots next to the supercharger intakes.

I worked on the restoration of a P-38. Near Mira-Mar. I think it's still on display nearby.

it was terrible for aerodynamics as was highly frown upon by instructors. most pilots were specifically instructed NEVER to open the canopies at any point in flight. at those speeds, just the wind itself is powerful enough to rip a mans head off

what kind of bug would you find at that altitude retard

a nip

What a bunch of bullshit. Just look how many pics from the pacific campaign and later korea and vietnam exist with wide open canopies.

a copper jacket

Actually it is a mix of reasons:

1. Especially bubble canopies are a fucking green house. Even when youre several thousand feet high since sun heat conduction still applies.
2. Again heat, most of the pics you're talking about were taken in the Pacific. To a further extend we are talking about the Vietnam war and open canopy Skyraiders. It's just like you said: Pilots "slid down" their windows for a nice breeze.
3. No matter how clean the glass of a canopy, it's still less translucent than pure air. Especially when looking into the general direction of the sun this dirt along with myriad fine scratches can seriously affect vision. Slide the canopy back, tadaa, much better situational awareness.
4. More percieved room. Not so much the later Corsair with its roomy canopy but lots of other fighters had kinda cramped headspace. No need to feel like in a coffin when no enemies are in sight.
5. Because it looks and feels cool. Even back then pilots were still young hotshots.

Don’t forget, at least for carrier planes
6. Because you already had it open for take-off, so why bother closing it?

But it's a dry heat user...

You write like Steve Brule talks

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Not in monsoon season it ain’t

Perhaps thats because I'm no native english speaker

Repeat, please

Pilots didn't like canopies when they first showed up. Experienced WW1 pilots claimed they could smell the fumes of enemy planes before they could see them.

Or maybe it was just hot as fuck in there.

more than airflow, it's actually for safety. Opening the canopy did a couple things. first, the path of exit was now unblocked, should the plane end up in the ocean, expediting pilot evactuation before the plane could sink, trapping him inside with the canopy closed, and preventing drowning from the factor of the canopy being jammed. second, opening the canopy created headroom for the second part, raising the seat all the way up, which increased pilot visibility over the nose, which was particularly important in the corsair, as it had a long engine cowl. With the canopy open and the seat raised fully, the pilot had the greatest possible visibility and ease of escape for launch and recovery. THIS is the reason that pilots flew with the canopy open moreso than airflow. How much moreso? can't say, but there was one part of every flight flown in such a fashion, and for one reason. The pilot needs to see over the engine cowl during launch and recovery.

the brown recluse who lives in the cockpit

>you wouldn't want to open the canopy on a modern fighter in flight, that would hurt and probably burn you.
yeah if you're a bitch

>you write like a doctor
that's you.

>implying you can't easily Google shitloads of modern fighters flying around with the canopy jettisonned
>implying two-seat aircraft like the F-14 weren't explicitly designed to allow the backseater to eject while the pilot could maintain control with no canopy

Should probably keep that shit closed on takeoff though. Every knot counts on those high density alititude days.

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> copilot was superfluous

That's awesome man. I wonder if it gave you an appreciation if the WW2 era men who built and maintained the aircraft. I went and saw one in Middlesboro, Kentucky with my dad when I was much younger. It was one of the ones from the lost squadron that were buried in ice. If I remember correctly, they hadn't quite gotten it to flying condition back then. Must've been 12 years ago. By far, my favorite aircraft.

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I say again, 2-3-0!

The P-38 was one of the few, possibly the only, WW2 fighter that you specifically could not open the canopy on in flight. The top portion hinged open to the rear, and the side panels could not be opened in flight for aerodynamic reasons of some sort.