[gumby79]

It sounds like you are familiar with the text portion of an A&P witch includes the instructions of applying certified fabric.... The attachment can be the same,or use a wraparound and heat welding like I did The shrinking is the same ,but with the boat wrap and you're done. Run your prototype for a year then pull the skin mod(read twek the design to account for needed changes based on observations,) recover.done ... find the sweet spot on shape and then step up to the CAA approved Oratex for a 20+ year CAA skin at 1oz/sqft.(under 2lbs for a complete canopy)

at 175usd for a 40'×12' pice(enough for ~5-6 fulesize canopy )shipped from Maine to Washington ,boat wrap is cheep,strong(250lbs sqft snowload strong) easy to work with(thire is a small learning curve to figure out how hot is to hotwhen using fire to shrink/weld),shiny printable finish no extra work, repairable (with a micro torch and a spare pice) I have had this upto 95mph no flapping tight as a drum. I agree with you on maby next time try an experiment, as time is becoming of the essence on this project. And just like rawhide can bend steal so can boat wrap... so some strategy and bridge building/ load transfer logic must be applied (I fill this would be some fun time on the computer for a builder of your caliber)

. Or evan cheeper is an old polyester bed sheet good adhesive or sewit on like in the old days(preference for hot set )and an iron. Lick it stick it and iorn tight . Next my A&P cousin said to use latex paint as a Buell nitrate substitute because it shrinks as it drys(without UV protection your looking at a short ,sun rot out lifespan 1-3years)

. For a not so simple model like the baby a wire frame 1/8"rod maby smaller (hoops left to right) spaced 1/2"-12"front to back ,making sure enough load transfer bracing to hold shape cover with 1 layer of wrap followed by 1/8"-1/4" fome sheet trim to fit ,tape the seams . And this helps to smooth the transition between faucets =improved radius and fewer hoops) strech a 2nd layer for an organic smooth shape.

If I was in a Fairweather part of the country I could drop °15-25bs off my 35lbs toper by hust changing to fiberglass rod and epoxy joints .iwent with steal to support 50+lbs/sqft snow loading (dont much like the idea of being crushed in my sleep in the back of my truck)