My 2 cents

[RV8JD]

Originally Posted by dlomheim

Bill; Do you know of many RV's that have "flipped" upon ditching? in the early 2000's I remember reading about an RV-8 off the Hawaiian Islands that lost it's engine and had to ditch. It didn't flip in that specific case, but the pilot later said he wished he hadn't opened his sliding canopy all the way (prior to touchdown) since it slammed forward with great velocity, and could have become stuck if unlucky. His conclusion was to unlock it, but not open it prior to touchdown in a ditching situation.

Doug

RV-9A FWF
RV-3A restored / sold

Don't know how many have flipped, but in case some missed the video of this RV-7 ditching from 2015. This guy also opened the canopy, like the RV-8 off of Hawaii, but I'll bet it also slammed shut. Note that the flaps appear to be up.

https://youtu.be/nfQf8fdZGzk

[dlomheim]

Wow...never knew about this landing and the immediate flip over.

Doug

[Timberwolf]

The only thing I hate about the tip up on my 6 is the leaking while on the ground. In the air I can fly through some heavy rain and I do feel a mist on my legs, but it is doable. On the ground it took out a few grand in radios from a rain. Now I use blue painters tape to seal it up whenever I'm parked outside. I've been working on putting in weather strip, sealing up any holes around the hinge points with lexal, and making sure I seal up any potential entry points for water as I find them.