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  #1  
Old 02-10-2008, 09:59 AM
FiveNinerTIM FiveNinerTIM is offline
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Canby, Oregon
Posts: 18
Default PIC in Left Seat - History behind this?

Hello Everybody,

After reading the thread about sizing the shuttle's SRBs, and then one about mounting throttle quadarants, I began to wonder about the history behind placing the PIC in the "left seat".

Specifically, 1) Most people are right handed, and 2) the right seat allows a right handed person to use their "best hand" on the stick, and then their left hand for throttle, mixture etc. which seems to make sense.

I recall that Dan C. mounted his quadrant throttle on the left side of his left PIC seat, and a quick search shows others have also either done this or are considering doing it.

So, how did this come about?

No offense to the "lefties" out there, its just Sunday morning curiousity.

Regards to all,
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Canby, Oregon
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  #2  
Old 02-10-2008, 11:39 AM
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jsharkey jsharkey is offline
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Bennington, Vermont USA
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Is it anything to do with the Americans and French driving from the "sinister" as opposed to the British "dexter" side of a car? Perhaps America and France got to set the standard because they were also the earliest practical aviation pioneers.

Just a wild assed guess!

Jim Sharkey
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  #3  
Old 02-10-2008, 11:52 AM
DavidBurton DavidBurton is offline
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Near Seattle , WA
Posts: 79
Default Left seat PIC

My guess, and it's just a guess is that when America was being formed the new settlers were determined to do everything differently from back home in Europe. Since a warrior with a sword wanted to have his right side (sword hand) to the middle of the road he rode on the left and they continued the practice. We did the opposite. There was a more rational for driving on the right here though. In America teams of horses were used to haul large loads and the driver didn't start out sitting on the wagon, he sat on the rear left horse to have his strong right hand free to lash the rest of the team with his whip. Since he was sitting on the left he tended to pass oncoming traffic on the right so as to be able to see that he wagon would clear the other traffic. This helped to continue the practice. Since we drive on the right we sit on the left in our cars and continued to do so in our planes.

Maybe someone who really know will chime in...

DaveB
RV6
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  #4  
Old 02-10-2008, 12:41 PM
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pgroell pgroell is offline
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Croissy-Beaubourg, France
Posts: 224
Default Horses

I think it has to do with cavalry and horse driving.
In the early days, a lot of aviators (in France) came from the cavalry.
We keep a few words in aviation coming from that era (Left HAND circuit or right HAND circuit opposed to left or right circuit). I think that in the cavalry, as David wrote, teams and groups were led from the left side and this remained in aviation.
My 2 cents only.
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  #5  
Old 02-10-2008, 02:01 PM
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Mel Mel is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Dallas area
Posts: 10,768
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Actually the boating industry has it right. You sit on the right which is the side you must yield to traffic. Traffic to your right has right-of-way. That's why you are showing them a green light.
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  #6  
Old 02-10-2008, 02:27 PM
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rv6ejguy rv6ejguy is offline
 
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Location: Calgary, Canada
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You don't have to follow convention. There are several RVs including both of mine which are right hand drive. Makes more sense to me to have the stick in my right hand and throttle in left as military single seaters do.
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  #7  
Old 02-10-2008, 02:37 PM
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Mel Mel is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Dallas area
Posts: 10,768
Default Since Ann is a pilot,

our RV is set up to solo from either seat. I fly left seat and she flies right seat. Works fine either way. This way we don't have to swap cushions around.
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Mel Asberry, DAR since the last century.
EAA Flight Advisor/Tech Counselor, Friend of the RV-1
Recipient of Tony Bingelis Award and Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award
USAF Vet, High School E-LSA Project Mentor.
RV-6 Flying since 1993 (sold)
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  #8  
Old 02-10-2008, 05:03 PM
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N941WR N941WR is offline
 
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Location: SC
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The French had some strange conventions "back in the day", like before and through WW I.

The throttle worked in reverse. To go up, you pulled back, increasing throttle. To land, you pushed forward, closing the throttle.

Needless to say, this caused some confusion with American and British pilots flying French aircraft. Eventually, they switched over to back for idle, and forward for full throttle.

Don't forget, although the airplane was an American invention, the French and British where far ahead of us in terms of aircraft design and performance during WW I.
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  #9  
Old 02-10-2008, 08:41 PM
sjjonesnz sjjonesnz is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Auckland, NZ
Posts: 147
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Quote:
Originally Posted by N941WR View Post
....although the airplane was an American invention....
Without meaning to hijack this discussion, how many of you know a New Zealander flew a powered, heavier-than-air craft before the Wright Brothers??

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Pearse

Just to throw that in there
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  #10  
Old 02-10-2008, 09:25 PM
RV505 RV505 is offline
 
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Posts: 120
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The Devil is in the details


The documentary evidence to support such a claim remains open to interpretation, however, and he does not appear to have developed his aircraft to match the Wrights' achievement of sustained, controlled flight. Pearse himself made contradictory statements which for many years led the few who knew of his feats to accept 1904 as the date of his first flight. The lack of any chance of industrial development, such as spurred the Wrights to develop their machine, seems to have suppressed any recognition of Pearse's achievements.
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