Aircraft Canopies

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Canopies covering the cockpit arrived as fighter/fighter bomber aircraft speeds increased and for the need to pressurize the cockpits.

Early WWII fighters had streamlined canopies flushed into the airframe to reduce drag. Since it was thought the their primary role was to destroy enemy bombers not dogfight....

Bf-109

Hawker Hurricane

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Later in the war the concept of Malcolm hood was introduced to improve the visibility of the fighter pilot in all direction.

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This concept was further improved in the form of the Bubble canopy in fighter like the P-51 Mustang... the bubble canopy gave the pilot a 360 degree view

 

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Modern fighters with ejection seats have an explosive chord to shatter the canopy in case of an ejection...

Like on this Harrier GR 9

 

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Since bubble canopies cause more drag than streamlined ones .... Are they going to go the way of the dodo ?... Modern airliners have cameras all over the fuselage ..... Can it be applied to fighters ? Will the Helmet mounted cuing system be required on such aircraft with a 360 degree camera coverage and even below ?

 

[SQ8]

Question is , how much of visibility will camera's be able to provide?
Will a projection of the rear quarter on a Pilots HMD cause him to lose focus in the front?

 

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As aircraft started approaching Mach 2.... Bubble canopies went out of fashion as can be seen on the following examples

Electric Lightning

Mirage III

F-104

MiG-21

 

[Dalai Lama]

This is kinda' off-topic but also kinda' funny.

 

[Dalai Lama]

 

[Chogy]

Visibility is crucial for any fighter that is expected to engage in a turning fight. The feeling of claustrophobia that you'd get from an Me-109 or MiG-21 turns into amazing visibility when the seating position is raised and a bubble canopy added. You pay for it with drag, but it's worth it.

Flying in an F-16 is like riding a magic flying carpet. There's not even a canopy bow in the way.

But a jet like the SR-71 has special needs... quartz glass and heavy support ribbing.

Above mach 2.5 or so, polycarbonate or acrylic canopies will heat, craze, and possibly fail.

 

[siegecrossbow]

I really don't want to be the guy cleaning up in the end lol...

 

[Jango]

Visibility is crucial for any fighter that is expected to engage in a turning fight. The feeling of claustrophobia that you'd get from an Me-109 or MiG-21 turns into amazing visibility when the seating position is raised and a bubble canopy added. You pay for it with drag, but it's worth it.

Flying in an F-16 is like riding a magic flying carpet. There's not even a canopy bow in the way.

But a jet like the SR-71 has special needs... quartz glass and heavy support ribbing.

Above mach 2.5 or so, polycarbonate or acrylic canopies will heat, craze, and possibly fail.

What is a canopy bow?

 

[Dalai Lama]

BTW, I just noticed: The F22's canopy seems to be made out of what looks like perspex! Anyone have any idea what it is?

 

[Chogy]

Basically any bar of material, usually metal, that forms a support lattice for the transparent material. The F-15 has one canopy bow or support that separates the windscreen up front with the rest of the canopy, and a second towards the rear that stiffens the plastic...

 

[SQ8]

Above mach 2.5 or so, polycarbonate or acrylic canopies will heat, craze, and possibly fail.

So where does the myth that the F-15 is limited in speed by its canopy fit in??
Or is that a fact??

 

[Jango]

Basically any bar of material, usually metal, that forms a support lattice for the transparent material. The F-15 has one canopy bow or support that separates the windscreen up front with the rest of the canopy, and a second towards the rear that stiffens the plastic...

F-16 does not have it?,so what it means is that when a canopy bow is not present, so when the canopy moves up, the HUD is exposed, but in an canopy which has canopy bow, the HUD will not remain exposed.

BTW, which A/C did you fly?

 

[TOPGUN]

Do any of our vipers have tinted Canopies ? like the US has.