Cutting, fitting, trimming. Repeat. When I took the project the old panel was a disaster - cut and recut until there was no structure dealing with twisting loads. That's pretty much guaranteed to give a rotten feeling when you throw a switch or turn a knob. Pretty clear it needs a rethink and another, better effort. I'm trying for a larger leg opening, since the plans one is too darn small for normal size people. That means taking advantage of the vertical clearance, so long as I don't lose visibility over the nose and can still close the canopy...you can see the tradeoffs. Add in the comments of others about needing to angle the panel, and it gets to be too much for sketches - I have to sit in the airplane, pull down the canopy and see if the part fits. I've been through 4 panel templates, trying to nail down exactly how much room I have under the non-standard canopy. #4 is the wood template in the back of the stack. I could build this panel from some foam and fiberglass. But it's easier to test fit wood (nature's composite) and easier to mount instruments on aluminum. I'm pretty sure this ends up a composite plane with a metal panel! But I like the look of the wood so I'll sand out the blood stains, seal this piece and use it as the long term template and/or final panel. Ended up going with aluminum - the strength/weight relationship is just too good to pass up.