T-33 canopy opening

Fouga23 · **Posted:** Sat Apr 21, 2012 1:27 pm

Anyone here who can tell me how to open the canopy on a T-33?

51fixer · **Posted:** Sat Apr 21, 2012 2:05 pm

Fouga23 wrote:

Anyone here who can tell me how to open the canopy on a T-33?

Static sitting around airframe or operational?
IIRC on the L/H side there is a small panel with a hartwell latch.
If there is power there is a switch that should run the electric motor to open.
Otherwise I believe there is a small handcrank that will manually run the jack screw.
I don't recall if there is anything that locks the canopy shut as in flight for sealing against pressurization system forces.
You will have to connect battery if there is a disconnect switch added or if the battery connector is disconnected.
It has been a number of years but this is what I remember.

Fouga23 · **Posted:** Sat Apr 21, 2012 6:26 pm

Thanks. It's a static airframe. Hasn't been opened in years. no battery, hydraulics,...

One-0-Wonder · **Posted:** Sat Apr 21, 2012 7:05 pm

Fouga,

The external canopy operating panel is on the right hand side of the aircraft basically right below the centre section of the canopy in the fuselage. Inside will be 2 switches for raising and lowering it electrically, but there should also be, attached to the inside of the door, a handle crank. Install this crank into the mechanism just above the switches and start turning. This will, via flex shafts, manually drive the canopy actuator up the rails and open the canopy.

Let me know if you need any additional information and I'll do my best to help you out.

cooper9411 · **Posted:** Sat Apr 21, 2012 7:28 pm

On the right side as stated earlier. Hopefully the hand crank will be where it should be, when I disassembled a T-33 a few years ago for a museum there was no power available and the crank was long gone. Amazing what kind of tools can be "fabricated" in a pinch! :drink3:

Fouga23 · **Posted:** Sat Apr 21, 2012 7:37 pm

Thanks guys! If the crank is gone, it will stay closed

RickH · **Posted:** Sun Apr 22, 2012 7:00 am

The canopy is run electrically no hydraulics required. Throw a 28 volt battery in the nose and see what happens, you never know, it might work !

Fouga23 · **Posted:** Sun Apr 22, 2012 7:15 am

It's a museum airframe and has to stay dead. So no battery allowed. I will be cleaning it in a few weeks time and if I am allowed I might try opening the canopy manually to clean the cockpit a bit, hence my question

jetfixr34 · **Joined:** Thu Apr 26, 2012 6:36 pm **Posts:** 1

The T-33 canopy is accessable via the outside access panel as previously described with one limitation. There is also a manual lock mechanism located above and aft of the crank assembly access. If locked, you must insert the canopy crank into the hexagon receiver and unlock the lock assy. If you can't power up the aircraft, use a 1/4" female socket on an electric drill to open the canopy. Do not run the drill to the full extension limit or you could extend beyond the electric switching limit resulting in an inability to close the canopy electricly. I currently work on T-33s so if you have ant further questions, don't hesitate to ask. I also have a spare T-33 canopy crank if you need one.

Fouga23 · **Posted:** Fri Apr 27, 2012 5:06 am

Thanks for the info. I'll post a pic when I start cleaning the a/c

Warbird Information Exchange

T-33 canopy opening

Who is online