Setback

How quickly things can change, my last post only a few days ago was all about progress, well today it's about setback, last night I was working on the canopy side skirts, I needed to lift the canopy up to look at the inside of the skirt, I don't have any handles on the outside so I'm lifting from the skin pins used to hold the canopy in place, I lifted the canopy and frame about 6in when I herd a snap sound, a quick look identified the problem, a 6in crack running from the forward most skin pin up into the viewing area on the RH side, AHHHH....

                        
　　
The flex of the frame combined with the forces put on the front of the canopy by the skin pin caused it to let go, I have been so careful with the canopy especially after an earlier setback, I put a small crack on the LH side from taping out a tight skin pin, that wasn't so bad as it ran from the edge into an existing hole. It showed just how fragile the canopy can be.　
　
I just sent off an email to Vans, I'm guessing the new canopy with Shipping is going to be around $1800.. Ouch..　
　

Cheers,　
　
Nick..