I'd be interested too, because I can follow all the instructions under the sun and variations of said instructions and end up with the default or no panel at all. This is a problem when my two major 'look fors' are panels and flight dynamics.

Basically, a panel comprises a Panel.cfg file + one or more BMPs. There are various methods for installing a new one. The easiest would be to open the existing Panel folder of the particular aircraft & paste the new files in, overwriting the existing Panel.cfg in the process.

My favourite method for testing new panels is to rename the existing Panel folder to Panel.0 or similar. Then create a new Panel folder containing all the files for the new panel. I can then revert to the original panel whenever I wish by simply renaming the folders or editing Aircraft.cfg. Using the latter method it's  possible to have several different versions of the same aircraft all using different panels.

Don't forget to paste any gauges included with a new panel into the FS2002\GAUGES folder. This is best done by pasting in the individual GAU or CAB files. I would suggest you DON'T overwrite existing gauges.

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By "system" do you mean your computer or your installation methods? I can almost guarantee it's not your computer.
Installing panels is quite straightforward. Unzip the downloaded file to a Temp folder. If in doubt, paste all the extracted files into a folder named Panel & paste it into any aircraft. Move all included GAU or CAB files to the FS2002\GAUGES folder.
If you haven't already done so, configure your Windows Explorer folder options to display known file types. http://www.simviation.com/lair/windows.htm
This will make messing around with this stuff so much easier.

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OK, I think you must be missing something. Panels should be one of the simplest of all addons to install. Is the problem with all panels or one in particular? Tell me exactly where to download this AC520 you mention. If it's not too big a file I'll check it out myself.

PS. When I say install gauges individually, I don't mean paste them in one by one. Open the folder containing all the gauge files & click Edit/Select All. Then simply paste them all into the FS2002\GAUGES folder in one go. Click No if prompted to overwrite existing files.

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Well, I like to think this will help our guest as well as others with the same problem. 

I don't usually investigate files from other sites. I'm sure Avsim  have their own support guys. That must be some panel at 16 Mb with 500 files. 
I prefer something a tad smaller & limit my downloads to 10 Mb max these days. Can you suggest something a little easier on my 56k modem.

I included 3 smileys for you. 

Thanks again! Fatigue was definitely setting in! I didn't mean to send you off on a quest but hey its a nice plane that 520. It seems you didn't have any problems with installation. I did have problems with it but perservered and finally got it. This is indicative of the problems I'm having so at the moment I think I'm going to give up on it all and go and fly somewhere easy like VNLK.  And yes panels are a problem and sound and paint so I'm going flying instead!!

All duly noted and I'll take a good look. As you suggest there could be a compounded problem. I'll go away and do my homework! Cheers