There is a lot of chatter on vansairforce.net about drilling holes into the pilots stick. Any hole will reduce the strength of the stick but it’s worse when the hole is nearest the pivot point, as mine is. Reinforcing the area is a worthwhile endeavor. My hole is 3/8″. I had to cut 3+ inches off the top of the stick so it would fit under the panel with the Infinity stick grip. I sliced this excess in half and refined it so it would fit over the hole and fit within the existing welds.
I’ll get a professional TIG welder to weld it into place, as well as the roll bar.