I stumbled across this photo of the all-composite, one-off 1962 Piper PA-29 Papoose prototype and the canopy arrangement caught my eye. Some 1950s and 1960s homebuilts took a similar approach.
See Tails Through Time: February 2010 and Piper Aviation Museum - Piper Papoose Prototype for more info and pics.
Considering the number of transparent canopies with big sunshades that I see, I wonder if this sort of arrangement is worth a second look? The windshield could be flat wrap, ditto the side windows if you lay out the hood with single curvature in the right places. It might be a nice way to dress up an otherwise Volksplane-simple design. You could even go all Rutan and use some circular porthole side windows. ;-)
What do you think?
See Tails Through Time: February 2010 and Piper Aviation Museum - Piper Papoose Prototype for more info and pics.
Considering the number of transparent canopies with big sunshades that I see, I wonder if this sort of arrangement is worth a second look? The windshield could be flat wrap, ditto the side windows if you lay out the hood with single curvature in the right places. It might be a nice way to dress up an otherwise Volksplane-simple design. You could even go all Rutan and use some circular porthole side windows. ;-)
What do you think?
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