507 Findings of Fact cockpit when in flight, but only by pushing or pulling. No mechanical means are provided. 15. The Hathorn patent, cited by the patent examiner, discloses a slidable transparent cabin top for open cockpit aircraft. The Hathorn cabin tops may be operated during flight, but only by pushing and pulling. No mechanical means are provided. Referring to figures 2, 4, and 8 of the Hathorn patent drawings, a cabin top 20, shown in the open position in figure 2, is supported for sliding movement on rails 21 to cover the forward cockpit 17. The rear cabin top 25, also shown in the open position, is mounted for sliding movement on rails 24 to cover the rear cockpit 18. A handle 28 is provided on the inside of each cabin top to enable the occupants to adjust the position of the cabin top along the supporting rails during flight. A locking mechanism 29 is connected by cables 35 to operate a plurality of latches 36 for securing the cabin top in adjusted position. The cabin tops are carried by supporting plates 42 which are provided with rollers 44 and 46 engaging the rails 21 or 24. 16. The Logan patent discloses a protective hood for aircraft comprising a plurality of pivotally supported arcuate segments adapted to nest together in the cockpit. The Logan hood is neither slidable nor jettisonable. The Vredenburgh patent discloses a pivoted windshield for one side of the basket of a captive balloon. The Vredenburgh shield is instantaneously detachable but is not slidable. The Cornelius patent discloses an escape mechanism for cabin aircraft comprising releasable doors in the cabin floor. This construction enables the pilot to drop his passengers and their seats downward. The Cornelius patent does not suggest a slidable or a detachable cockpit canopy. The Miller patent discloses spring-operated hinged doors covering a parachute compartment rearward of an open cockpit. The Hall patent discloses a cabin aircraft having a releasable roof hatch above each passenger seat. The several hatches are releasable simultaneously, but are not slidable. The Alexander, et al. patent discloses a cockpit roof window slidable in fore and aft directions by means of a crank-operated mechanism. The Alexander roof window is not jettisonable. The Smith patent discloses another arrangement of trapdoors in the Findings of Fact 148 C. Cls. cabin floor for dropping passengers and their seats downward. The Pivak patent shows an adjustable cover for cockpits formed by a series of arcuate segments, similar to that disclosed in the Logan patent, but the Pivak cover is slidable fore and aft to various positions. This Pivak patent was the subject of an earlier suit in this court, Joll Perry, formerly J. L. Pivak, v. United States, 112 C. Cls. 1, decided March 1, 1948, wherein claim 1 of the Pivak patent was held to be invalid over prior patents. The McCune patent relates to power-operated vehicle exit doors. The Helwig patent, cited against the Saulnier application by the patent examiner, discloses a safety exit for an aircraft gunner's compartment or turret. The exit comprises an airtight trapdoor secured in the bottom floor of the gunner's compartment by quick-release latches which allow the door to be jettisoned in an emergency. The Helwig trapdoor is pivotally supported for non-emergency use, and is not slidable and is not adjustable to various positions during flight. 17. The British Petters, et al. patent discloses the broad combination of a cockpit canopy slidable in the fore and aft direction and also instantaneously openable in an emergency. The cockpit canopy is not detachable. Referring to figures 1, 2, and 4 of the British Petters patent drawings, the pilot's cockpit a is provided with a fixed windshield 8 and a slidable hood. The slidable hood or canopy is formed in two parts, d and e, hinged about substantially horizontal axes, g and h. The members to which the hinged parts are attached are mounted upon fixed guides j and k, whereby the hood may be moved forward so as to uncover the cockpit a and enable the pilot to enter or leave the same. In order to secure quick release in an emergency, the two portions d and e of the pilot's cockpit roof may be thrown open by releasing a quick-release pin m at the inside top of the canopy as shown in figure 2, the open canopy being illustrated in dotted lines. The gunner's cockpit b is provided with a roof of the pivoted segment type disclosed in the Logan and Pivak patents discussed in finding 16. The British Petters patent discloses a cockpit roof structure which is slidable in flight and also instantaneously openable in an emergency. The British patent does not disclose any details Findings of Fact 148 C. Cls. of mechanisms or handles for moving the pilot's cockpit slidable roof fore and aft on the fixed guide rails j and k. 18. The British Boulton, et al. patent discloses a slidable cockpit canopy construction for aircraft. Referring to figures 3 and 4 of the Boulton patent drawings, an aircraft 507 Findings of Fact cockpit is provided with a fixed windshield 10, a slidable cockpit roof 14, and a fixed rear roof section 13. The slidable roof 14 is mounted on rollers 20 positioned in channels 17 and 18, there being one channel on each side of the cockpit. The Boulton patent specification suggests Means should be provided for enabling the pilot to effect the movement of the sliding component, such as suitable handles affixed thereto, or alternatively a winch and handle, or a quick thread screw. Further suitable locking gears should be provided for retaining the sliding component in either the closed or the open position, or, if desired, in intermediate positions as well. Further the attachment of the slidable component of the cover to the aircraft through the track must be such as to ensure that it will be securely held and easily operable under all conditions of flight and of the varying air pressures to which the cover is thereby subjected. [Emphasis added.] * The British Boulton patent discloses a roof normally slidable above a pilot's cockpit and capable of being operated when in flight, and suggests mechanical means for displacing the roof under all conditions of flight which would mean that the displacing means must be operable from inside the cockpit. The Boulton patent does not suggest means for detachably securing the roof 14 to the supporting lugs 19, figure 3, nor does said patent suggest that the slidable roof might be jettisonable. 19. As noted in this court's special findings of fact in the Joll Perry case cited above, a Lockheed Sirius airplane, built for Col. Charles A. Lindbergh, flight tested in 1930, and placed on public exhibition about 1933, included a slidable cockpit canopy. The transparent front canopy section was mounted at its lower side edges for sliding movement on track sections secured adjacent to the top edge of the front cockpit and on the outside thereof. The evidence in the present case does not indicate whether or not the Lockheed Sirius slidable canopy was jettisonable, nor does it indi Findings 35-36, 112 C. Cls. 1, 25. |