Another package arrived with the Aerosport Center Console and throttle quadrant so I decided to fit that up to get a better idea of where things will go.
The opening for the throttle quadrant is marked but not cut so I decided to cut this out first. I used a Dremel with a cut off wheel and a file and sandpaper to clean up the edges.
To get the console into place I needed to fit the tunnel cover. The Control Approach pedals attach to the rudder cables inside the tunnel so I needed to split the tunnel cover and add slots for the pedal arms.
I made a bracket, match drilled it to the cover, then split the cover and cut the slots.
I then test fit the console and everything aligned well. I won’t be going any further with this part of the install for now but it gives me a good idea of where things will be located.
Maintenance accessibility might be tricky so I’m going to look into potentially adding another split in the tunnel cover just forward of the fuel selector. That would allow the forward tunnel cover section (the bit forward of the lower panel) to be accessed without removing the center console.
Test fitting it also makes it clear that I’ll want to think carefully about connectors so that any wiring to the center console area is easily detachable.
