The line between a cabin and canopy is sometimes blurry, but it's safe to say that most factory-built, low-wing aircraft have cabins of some kind with inset doors rather than a full canopy. On the other hand, there are very few cabin-type, low-wing homebuilts. There are a few exceptions both ways (Ercoupes, Grumman/American Yankee/Traveler/Cheetah/Tiger, etc. with canopies; Davis DA-2A, PGK-1 Hirondelle, etc. with cabins) but not that many.
Source: http://tagazous.free.fr/affichage.php?appareil=Western+PGK-1+Hirondelle
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPSHRGy-bek
Personally, I like the look of a sporty cabin like the Hirondelle's and it seems like a great way to simplify the build with a flat-wrap windscreen and flat side windows. For real simplicity you can go for just one oversize door, Cherokee-style, with an emergency exit window on the other side. So why do we so rarely see cabin homebuilts?
PS--Added an old SA article on the Hirondelle with some good but grainy pics. What's not immediately obvious is that the PGK-1 doors are hinged vertically at the front like a car door but also wrap around into the roof, leaving a "targa top" of sorts when open and making it easy to provide pretty great visibility.
PPS--Added a screen shot from a video showing a PGK-1 fuselage to give a clearer idea of the door cutouts.
Source: http://tagazous.free.fr/affichage.php?appareil=Western+PGK-1+Hirondelle
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPSHRGy-bek
Personally, I like the look of a sporty cabin like the Hirondelle's and it seems like a great way to simplify the build with a flat-wrap windscreen and flat side windows. For real simplicity you can go for just one oversize door, Cherokee-style, with an emergency exit window on the other side. So why do we so rarely see cabin homebuilts?
PS--Added an old SA article on the Hirondelle with some good but grainy pics. What's not immediately obvious is that the PGK-1 doors are hinged vertically at the front like a car door but also wrap around into the roof, leaving a "targa top" of sorts when open and making it easy to provide pretty great visibility.
PPS--Added a screen shot from a video showing a PGK-1 fuselage to give a clearer idea of the door cutouts.
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