Cost to install a canopy?

I think your estimate is pretty close to correct and what you may
expect.......labor rates may vary from one repair shop to another but
generally you can expect to pay something near the cost for the canopy equal
in labor costs....or between $2000-$2500 (estimated)
the labor involved is rather extensive if done properly.....removing all of
the old acrylic (Plexiglas) breaking chipping and grinding off where the old
canopy was glued in place, repairing and preparing the canopy frame to
accept the new acrylic, fitting the new canopy (really good canopies like
Mecaplex or similar will be factory trimmed pretty close to fit, others
might require a lot of extra trimming (and time) then re-gluing the new
acrylic to the frame, all quite fragile work as well.......then repainting
(gelcoat) the frame (a portion of the acrylic is also painted where it is in
the frame work) and then re-fitting to the glider.....Most repair shops also
want the glider in their shop to do the work since the frame will take a
different set if not mounted on the glider when the new acrylic is
installed..so you can see that the work is a bit intensive and deserves the
time and effort .........you also want to be certain that the canopy you are
installing is the proper one and of the highest quality, since an inferior
canopy will cost the same labor (or more) to install and since the acrylic
is (should be) protective coated, even the repair shop won't know what the
optics or quality of the canopy is until the job is 99% complete and they
then remove the coating.......I, BTW do not do the repairs.....but do
support many of the better glider repair shops in the USA.....I hope you do
too...we need them!
Best regards
Tim
Wings & Wheels
www.wingsandwheels.com

"Roger Worden" wrote in message
. com...
Our club is looking into a new canopy for a Grob 103 Twin Astir. We
received
an estimate from a well-known repair shop: $2,000 for the canopy and 50
hours of labor to install. I'm new to this field - I fly 'em, I don't fix
'em. But I'm having a hard time imagining what steps must be involved to
consume 50 hours. Hinge, latches... what am I missing?