Jay's that is a fabulous log you put together.  Makes my etch-a-sketch page look puny.

Hi Stephen,

The armrest is part of the fuselage structure and stiffens the fuselage where the canopy opening is. The opening makes that portion of the fuselage less rigid, so the stiffening contribution of the consoles is needed. There is a solution to your dilemma, however. If you cut the top of the armrest off, but leave or fabricate an attach flange (glass to glass) on both the fuselage side and the vertical portion of the arm rest, you can put some nut-plates on this tab and fasten with screws to maintain the structural stiffness of the armrest assembly. This is what I did on my build. Center console, and both armrests are built this way on my plane. See pages 97-104 in the linked document: http://n8wq.scheevel.com/documents/build_logs/02_N8WQ-log_Construction-Fuselage.pdf

Cheers,
Jay

-----Original Message-----
From: main@Q-List.groups.io <main@Q-List.groups.io> On Behalf Of Stephen Theron
Sent: Monday, March 22, 2021 8:39 AM
To: main@q-list.groups.io
Subject: [Q-List] Quickie Tri Q2 with Belly board

Hi Guys

I’m busy restoring after standing for 17 years.

I’m busy with the Belly board control handle mechanism which seized and needs replacing. The handle is situated inside the left armrest against the fuselage. In order to access this I may need to cut away part of the armrest? Has anyone had any experience with this and if so please share with me. Is the armrest an integral part of the structure?

Regards

Stephen Theron
+27 84 699 1684
Johannesburg
South Africa.