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Throttle on right

Cjorg

Member
Can't see that it has been asked before and might be stupid question but why is throttle on left on -8? I have only been flying in -9a and sr22 and in both I use left hand on stick and run throttles and radios with rt hand. Will it be hard to transition to -8? Do you run radios with left hand?
 
1. Traditionally in centerline/tandem airplanes the throttle is on the left.
2. No, it is not hard to transition.
3. Depends on where you mount the radios but putting them on the left prevents you from having to switch hands while flying.
Really, it will take you all of one flight to get used to stick in the right hand and throttle in the left and you will be surprised how natural it feels.
I just came back from recurrent simulator training and as a company check airman with authority in all seats I am required to perform some maneuvers from the right seat. Flying from the right seat with the yoke in my right hand and the thrust levers in the left just feels more natural despite the fact I normally fly from the left seat.
 
I'd like to also know out of curiosity of there is any specific guidance on cockpit ergonomics design out there for completely customized cockpit configurations,

During the production run of the Gulfstream G2 and G3 the running joke was if you had seen one G2/G3, you had seen one G2/G3. The cockpits were all different. Switches and controls would be placed wherever the customer wanted. We had one airplane where the pressurization controller was down by the F/O's right knee and another where it was at the top of the overhead. Things became much more standardized with the G4 and continue with the current equipment. The same is sort of true in airline equipment. The older airplanes were set up the way the customer wanted and the newer ones are much more standard. I can walk in to any 737NG cockpit and be able to operate the major systems with no difficulty no matter who the delivery customer was. I don't know if it is the result of regulation or just a way to reduce production costs by reducing the number of variations. It would be interesting to talk to somebody who was in an engineering department about 20 years ago and find out what the driving force was.
 
Opposite perspective

I have a 7a with a LH throttle and prop/mixture in the middle.

For acro I fly RH on the stick.. for instrument flying I fly LH on stick and keep the right hand for radio work.

Its really not an issue.. Now swapping seats if you low time.. THATS a big deal!!..:)

Frank
 
Gaming joysticks

Interesting to note that all the gaming joysticks with molded handles are designed for right hand use. Not ashamed to mention here that for may rear passenger I am using an ex (Logitech - Wingman grip)... feels comfortable and natural.
 
It would be interesting to talk to somebody who was in an engineering department about 20 years ago and find out what the driving force was.

Not an engineer, but what happened when GIV was designed is they required Gulfstream to meet latest Part 25 FAA requirement that the cockpit layout has to be type certificated. Before then they weren't. All the manufacturer's had to do the same. With that change none of the required equipment or switches can be moved from their approved certified location. Also, any additions such as a third comm control have to also be in an approved location. It's the best thing they ever did for cockpits. Prior to that each airline or corporate buyer did their own thing based upon how some pilot thought it should be. What a mess!! :D
 
Throttle On Right

I have a left index finger that has lost a bit of mobility and manipulating the knobs and switches with my left hand is slightly more difficult than with the right. My -8 cockpit layout has my throttle quadrant on the right, along with the switch bank and radio controls. I figure since I'm going to be the one flying it I should do it pretty much like I want, but I'll call this Jay's ADA Airplane.

Or not...
 
Left hand on the stick leaves the right hand to take notes and make fine radio adjustments. At least we can switch hands on the stick. I often wondered what it is like to fly a longeze with your right hand committed to that RH joy stick for the entire flight.

Planning ahead, it would be fairly easy to make TP&Mp to move from one side to the other without too much disruption of the cockpit.
 
Did we and the Brits not kick Germany's hiney with left hand throttles and right-hand sticks?

Those ergonomics were figured out a looong time ago.:)

Then again, they weren't experimental homebuilts and you either flew them the way they came, or you quit and became a ground-pounder.

That's now our privilege...build 'em like you like 'em.:)

Best,
 
Left throttle

When I built my 8A I was flying anRV6A, with left stick, right throttle. I had same question. You will adapt to the left throttle and now I do not even think about it.
 
Can't see that it has been asked before and might be stupid question but why is throttle on left on -8? I have only been flying in -9a and sr22 and in both I use left hand on stick and run throttles and radios with rt hand. Will it be hard to transition to -8? Do you run radios with left hand?

Cjorg, from experience I can tell you that the transition is EASY. I say this because I am LEFT HANDED and have flown left handed my entire life. I am talking 30 years of bending sticks with my left hand. When I transitioned to the RV-8 making the switch to my right hand to control the stick took all of 10 minutes to get comfortable with it. It honestly took longer to aclimatize to the fact that the RV-8 panel/windscreen is right in your face, compared to your run of the mill spam cannage.

Now, on the radios, if you are planning on building, by all means, PUT THE RADIOS ON THE LEFT. Its a royal pain in the backside if you have to constantly take your right hand off the stick to change freqs or dial in the GPS. Yes you can reach over with your throttle hand, but it makes so much more sense to just mount the radio stack on the left side in front of the throttle/Prop/Mix controls. Mine is on the right, and I do not recommend it. Someday I will change the panel. But right now I am too busy flying to worry about it. But it still annoys me. So there you go. Even after 300 hours in the RV-8 with radio on the right, I still think, every time I fly, that the radios need to be on the left where they belong. Lesson learned.
 
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