"We have carry a Leatherman folding knife since the first flight. However, access to it following an upside down 'event' may be too difficult or impossible to find.
I came up with a better solution. Our co-pilot's stick is not bolted in (just slides into the control socket). I machined on a lathe an old screw driver so the handle would slip inside the lower end of the stick. The screw driver hardened 1/4" steel shaft is about 1" long and was machined to a 60 degree included angle with a very sharp point.
Only the 1" steel pointed end extends beyond the bottom of the stick. The screw driver tool is held in the stick by a #10 screw thru the plastic handle just above the socket so it can be slipped out easily. No way is the controls system operation effected.
I normally brief my pax in use of the canopy cracker following an emergency."
