Kevin wrote:

"My question is, on the Legacy one of my fears is a hard landing and
not being able to open the canopy; What are the thoughts on the
custom openable windows made for the Legacy? It seams to me that
structurally it is not a good idea, given the fact that the window is
no longer part of the structure."

It's a worry of mine too and, after four years of flying, I still don't
have an answer for it.  I think if you stay upright there should not be
a problem, and history, at least so far, seems to bear that out.  It's
hard to imagine anything that would jam either the hinges or the latch
mechanism.  The thing I worry about is if you flip and end up upside
down.  In that case, I suspect you are stuck inside until someone cuts
you out.  Having gone in and out of the back window a few times during
construction, I can attest to the fact that those of us who have put on
a pound or two will find it a tight fit.  Trying to get past the
openable windows would, I fear, require a physique different from mine
-- and that's assuming full functionality.  I've thought of carrying one
of those hammer thingys, a knife, a saw, pretty much everying.  I think
the best solution might be a battery powered dremmel but I have to say I
don't carry one.

Having spent last weekend getting my ICAS clearance to do rolls at
airshows, I have another thing to think about:  Is it possible to put
"pullable" pins in the canopy hinge attachment so you could bail out in
an emergency?  We were talking about the rule that you have to have a
parachute if you are dual and doing acrobatics and I pointed out that
the highest and best use of a parachute in a conventionally built Legacy
is as a seat back cushion.  A set of hinge pins would fix that in the
event of, say, a fire.  It would also give you two ways to get out after
a crash, asumming you were upright.

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