I continued work on the panel by attaching more of the Aerosport parts, starting with the handhold guards - these are straightforward 3D printed parts, though they did require some trimming to make the stock handhold doubler fit within its edge (to the point that one of the rivets will have to go on the skin underneath only):
Hand hold cover clecoed in place
Bottom support for the hand hold cover, trimmed to not hit the panel
Hand hold doubler trimmed to fit inside the hand hold cover
Finished hand hold doublers and covers
It was then time to attach the bottom side panels - aligning them took a few attempts, since the ideal position that makes them fit flush where they curve also made them too high to attach to the tunnel cover - so I lined up with the tunnel cover instead, and likely nobody will ever notice the small offset around the curve (minor annoyance - there's no such thing as a #19 strap duplicator! Had to use a #21 then final-drill):
Bottom side panels match-drilled in place
Multiple attempts at marking heights for the side panels
Side panels attached in place
With the side panels attached, the panel was finally stiff and the bottom center panel had a definite position, which allowed me to get started on the center armrest console. I started by making the hole and slot for the throttle quadrant adjustment knob (that adjusts how stiff the quadrant is):
Open slot for throttle quadrant adjustment in center armrest
I then proceeded to align the armrest right up against the center bottom panel and flush with the tunnel covers, and match-drill it with a strap duplicator:
Armrest console attached in place
I left a few holes out from the armrest - notably the holes that were right next to other holes, the 4 aft holes on the second (third since I split the first) section of the tunnel cover, and one more up front. These were dimpled so I can secure the tunnel covers before the armrest is attached, and helped keep the tunnel covers in the right position for match-drilling:
Tunnel cover with some dimpled holes for securing underneath the armrest console
Finally, I worked on the fuel selector - first by marking and drilling a 1/2" hole through the tunnel cover opening (per Ed Kranz video), then initially trimming the valve extension flush with the armrest and enlarging the hole to 7/8", which let me attach the valve lever in place and measure more precisely how much more I had to trim the extension:
Fuel valve extension hole, with extension trimmed flush to the surface
Fuel valve lever attached to extension through armrest hole (still a little proud)
I trimmed the extension to the final length, then with the valve lever flush against the armrest (and attached to the valve underneath, but with all parts of it still on top) I marked and match-drilled the screw holes for the cover plate:
Fuel valve lever cover plate holes being match-drilled into armrest
Final length of the fuel valve extension after trimming - 4.038"
Finally, I disassembled the lever and mounted it properly, with the supporting structure underneath the surface:
Fuel valve extension installed in place
Next will be the quadrant attachment and attaching nutplates to those side panels.
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