Fun with Flying: Right-Seat Time

"Morgans" wrote:
"Jim Logajan" wrote

Appers to have originated with the Wright brothers

The pilot sat in the left seat.

Damn Wright brothers. What the hell did they know, anyway? ;-)

The next question is, why nobody ever changed it?

It appears it has gotten changed - for helicopter pilots. Here's an article
where the author proposes a theory on how the predominant convention for
helicopter pilots became the right seat:

http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question...rs/q0072.shtml

As to why nobody ever tried changing seating conventions - what gain is
there? Imagine learning baseball with the glove on one hand and later
trying to switch. The relearning process would be long and awkward, and
unless there is some advantage, no reason to change. Just my two cents.

" "Mark T. Dame" wrote

I've been threatening to actually fly from the
right seat, but fortunately for those that share the airport with me, I
have yet to do so.

Morgans" wrote in message
...

I have always wondered where flying from the left seat for the PIC came
from. It seems like the proper way (rules of right of way in
consideration)
would be like the boaters do.

How do the boaters do? My boat has a left hand steering position.

Allen

A. Smith wrote:
" "Mark T. Dame" wrote

I've been threatening to actually fly from the
right seat, but fortunately for those that share the airport with me, I
have yet to do so.

Morgans" wrote in message
...

I have always wondered where flying from the left seat for the PIC came
from. It seems like the proper way (rules of right of way in
consideration)
would be like the boaters do.

How do the boaters do? My boat has a left hand steering position.

Allen

I'm a big sprawling guy, and I fly a Cessna 150. Sometimes when there
is hanging by a string weather (no turbulence), I move to the "middle"
seat and fly from that position-left foot on left rudder on left
side, right foot on right rudder on right side, left hand on left yoke,
right hand on right yoke. The 150 cabin is so small that it works fine
for cruise, and is a nice change for long cross-country flights.

I've tried flying from the right seat, buy only after I'm in the air
and in good weather. I think that would be the way to go about learning
right seat. I can't imagine starting with taxi, take off and landings.
Instead, I'd go through all the maneuvers in the air first: level
turns, climbing turns, slow flight, etc. (of course, that would only
work with an airplane where you can easily slide from one seat to the
other and then rebuckle--as you can in a 150.) Once I was happy with
those maneuvers, I'd try a take off, but not a landing. I'd not try a
landing until I'd done some power off stalls, turns around the point
and so on.

I'd think it would take about 25 hours of right hand flying before I'd
feel proficient enough to think of it as routine.

"A. Smith" wrote

How do the boaters do? My boat has a left hand steering position.

That is interesting. I don't think I have ever seen a left side (port side)
command position. What kind of boat, year and country of origin?
--
Jim in NC

Morgans wrote:

That is interesting. I don't think I have ever seen a left side (port side)
command position. What kind of boat, year and country of origin?

It doesn't seem to be real common, but some of the older runabouts had port-side
controls. Here's an old Chris-Craft.

http://www.classicboat.com/classic-b...unabout-6e.htm

George Patterson
Drink is the curse of the land. It makes you quarrel with your neighbor.
It makes you shoot at your landlord. And it makes you miss him.

"Morgans" wrote in message
...

"A. Smith" wrote

How do the boaters do? My boat has a left hand steering position.

That is interesting. I don't think I have ever seen a left side (port
side)
command position. What kind of boat, year and country of origin?
--
Jim in NC

It's called a "Tahiti", made by Bell Industries in 1978 in Calif. 21' jet
boat w/Chev. 454. Also has a foot throttle like a car. Lots of fun, just
not right now with the gas prices!

Allen

Ah, I'm not a nautical expert, but some tenders were built with the wheel on
the left. I think the maritime rules require an approach from the
starboard, and to facilitate manuevering closely, the wheel was on the port
side.


"Morgans" wrote in message
...

"A. Smith" wrote

How do the boaters do? My boat has a left hand steering position.

That is interesting. I don't think I have ever seen a left side (port
side)
command position. What kind of boat, year and country of origin?
--
Jim in NC