Removing vertical support?

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I've been looking over some pics of others panels here, as we are trying to decide if we want to do any upgrades on the panel and I noticed a lot of 6/7's don't have the vertical support that our aircraft has.. Seems like it would be more roomy/comfortable if this wasn't there and I suspect is why many guys are omitting it..

I'm wondering if this is a structural support or not?

This picture is not our aircraft, but what I could find quickly on the net..

I'm speaking of the vertical support the throttle and mixture are mounted to..

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Looks like I posted too soon..