HOME BUILT ACFT PLT HOLDS CANOPY ON BY HAND AFTER IT COMES LOOSE ON TKOF. FATIGUE AND NEED FOR BOTH HANDS TO CTL ACFT REQUIRES HIM TO LET IT GO. IT SEPARATES FROM ACFT. MAX ALT REACHED IS 400 FT. COM WAS LOST WITH HEADSET SO STAYED IN TFC PATTERN WHERE TWR CLRED TFC AND USED LIGHT SIGNALS FOR CLRNCS.

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ACFT ZENAIR ZODIAC LOW WING SIDE BY SIDE 2 SEAT HOME-BUILT. CANOPY HINGES OPEN FROM EITHER SIDE. SHORTLY AFTER TKOF 50-100 FT; L SIDE OF CANOPY CAME UNLATCHED. I GRABBED THE FRONT CORNER AND HELD IT AT ABOUT 6 INCHES OPEN. DISRUPTED AIRFLOW CAUSED A SEVERE DOWN AND L FORCE. I REGAINED CTL AND CLBED TO ABOUT 400 FT. FLEW SLOPPY PATTERN; TRIED TO REDUCE PWR BY RELEASING CTR STICK WITH R HAND AND PULLED THROTTLE BACK. PLANE DIVERTED TO 200 FT. PWR NOW HELD LEVEL FLT BUT COULDN'T CLOSE CANOPY. TRIED APCH TO STALL; STILL COULDN'T CLOSE. MY L ARM WAS GETTING WEAKER SO I DECIDED TO FLY TO OPEN FIELD ON FINAL APCH TO RWY 31R/L. I LET THE CANOPY GO. IT SWUNG TO VERT AND THEN THE PLASTIC BUBBLE SHATTERED. WHILE THE CANOPY WAS GOING IT JERKED THE PLANE AROUND ALMOST 90 DEGS. THE WIND CLEANED OUT THE COCKPIT AND MY HEADSET CAME OFF. THE BOOM MIKE HAD BLOWN BACK AT THE BEGINNING SO I COULDN'T TALK. I WAS POINTED AT THE RWY AND MADE AN UNEVENTFUL LNDG ON RWY 31L. THE TWR GAVE ME A GREEN LIGHT SO I TAXIED TO MY PARKING SPOT. THE R CANOPY HINGE HOOKS HELD THE CANOPY FRAME (BENT ALL OUT OF SHAPE) ON THE R SIDE. NO OTHER DAMAGE TO THE PLANE WAS FOUND. I TALKED TO THE TWR OPERATORS AND TOLD THEM WHAT WENT WRONG. THEY SAW MY ERRATIC FLT AND CLRED THE PATTERN FOR ME. I GOT A SCRATCH ON MY R FOREARM. REPLACEMENT CANOPY WILL HAVE NEW FORWARD OPENING HINGE SETUP. MY GPS SHOWS FLT PATH WITH 90 DEG CORNER.