RV-8 panel

I am currently laying out the instrument panel and I am wondering why so many builders put the radios on the right side of the panel. Does it not make more sense to put it on the left to make an easy transition from the throttle to change freq's leaving your right hand on the stick. Forgetting about the autopilot flying at the moment. Is there something I am not considering?

Tad Sargent

I agree, left is better

Space is limited, but I'm giving a great deal of thought to that.
I have a Dynon D180, GNS430, SL30, GTX327, PS Eng Audio Panel. My plan is to put the D180 and GNS430 in the center and the rest on the left. I'm right handed, but as an instructor I've become comfortable using my left to tweak.

My latest version also has the AP74 and HS34 AP controls to the left of the D180. I'll have to be careful about space behind the panel, and that may dictate some placements.

Don

Stripes,
Don't overthink this, put them on the left where they belong.......like I did!
Mutha

My radio stack (SL40, Transponder and 496) are on the left. I would rather not have to change hands on the stick at an inopportune moment.

Some people put them on the right so you can operate the knobs with your right hand which for most of us is dominant and therefore has better control. To the right is also where all Cessna, Piper, Beech, RV-6, RV-7 drivers are used to them being.

The opposing logic says put them on the left so they can be operated with your left hand while keeping the right hand on the stick.

To each their own. My -8 came with radios on the right and I don't even notice it anymore. I just put the left hand on the stick and dial in the freq or code.

"Push Company!"

tadsargent said:

I am currently laying out the instrument panel and I am wondering why so many builders put the radios on the right side of the panel. Does it not make more sense to put it on the left to make an easy transition from the throttle to change freq's leaving your right hand on the stick. Forgetting about the autopilot flying at the moment. Is there something I am not considering?

Tad Sargent

Click to expand...

Need I say more?

Never-ending debate. Everyone is absolutely sure they are "Right" - no argument!

Do what works best for you if it is your airplane - but don't do what you THINK is best for you. Do some practice/simulation - stack the radios on you desk, sit down in front of them, and twiddle the knobs/push the buttons - try this with them on the left, and with them on the right.

Mine are on the right in the -8 because my tactile coordination is better with the right hand, and taking the hand off the stick (or swapping hands on the stick) for a moment is no big deal. But that's me.

In the -3, they are in the center - there is no room for "left" or "right". When I reach for the knobs on the G3X screens, I reach with the right, because that works best ... for me.

Paul

Ironflight is right, but ...

Ironflight said:

Never-ending debate. Everyone is absolutely sure they are "Right" - no argument!

Do what works best for you if it is your airplane - but don't do what you THINK is best for you. Do some practice/simulation - stack the radios on you desk, sit down in front of them, and twiddle the knobs/push the buttons - try this with them on the left, and with them on the right.

Mine are on the right in the -8 because my tactile coordination is better with the right hand, and taking the hand off the stick (or swapping hands on the stick) for a moment is no big deal. But that's me.

In the -3, they are in the center - there is no room for "left" or "right". When I reach for the knobs on the G3X screens, I reach with the right, because that works best ... for me.

Paul

Click to expand...

"Stripes" did not mention the "use case" for the plane.

"CB" .... we flight right next to each other.

Trim

Stripes,

If the airplane is trimmed up you won't even notice when you take your hand off the stick to change freq's.

Are you trimmed

I wish I did it the other way....

Bubblehead said:

Some people put them on the right so you can operate the knobs with your right hand which for most of us is dominant and therefore has better control. To the right is also where all Cessna, Piper, Beech, RV-6, RV-7 drivers are used to them being.

The opposing logic says put them on the left so they can be operated with your left hand while keeping the right hand on the stick.

Click to expand...

I originally sketched out my panel with the stack on the right. Feedback I got from others persuaded me to move it to the left. Now, when I fly, I find that I switch stick hands to operate the radio with my right hand because of the better fine-motor control, especially in a bit of turbulence. So I have the worst of both worlds, radios on the left, operated with right hand.

If I had it to do over again, I would put the stack on the right. And this is from a guy that is so hopelessly addicted to right-hand stick that when I flew my transition training with Mike Seager in the RV-7, I insisted on flying in the right seat so I could keep right hand on the stick. But for the times when I'm setting a txpr code or dialing a frequency or selecting stuff on the 396, I need the right hand there, and I can fly 'well enough' with the left for those short times.

YMMV

Like Paul said, never ending.

I flew rotary wing and you rarely let go of the stick, so I put my radios on the left, and am very happy with it, but I tune them with the left hand. I do find myself doing some of each hand, just comes naturally.

SL-30 and SL-70 xpndr on the left, 496 is in the middle. Being mostly VFR makes a differance too, but I do use that link between SL-30 and GPS to check local weather, tune in destination etc, so actual tuning is a little less, just select and flip-flop.

I also put the freq flip and ident on my stick. Our local tower almost always asks for ident, and that make it easy.

Bottom line, you have to decide how you will operate the systems!!

I put the radio stack on the left side of my RV-8 instrument panel so I could keep my right hand on the stick, and I find that I usually use the left hand to fiddle with the GNS-430, etc. Yes, my right hand is slightly more dextrous, but the left hand is more than good enough for me.

Pretty much every transport category aircraft has avionics in the centre pedestal, between the two pilots. The right seat pilot pretty much has to use his left hand to fiddle with that stuff, and they seem to get by just fine.

I offer this scenario for consideration in laying out your panel (its pro left for radios,gps, txpdr).

If you fly the ILS to mins (or to whatever uncomfortable level you want to go with) and you go missed...switching hands back and forth may not be the best thing for you to be doing on climb out while you are changing radio stations, changing your squawk, and maybe setting the missed approach on your GPS (all of these are on the left side in my 8). Autopilot is a crutch, an aid, and should be used as such. Its not a substitute for being able to fly the approach and the missed approach. Set the autopilot when you are trimmed in a steady state flight regime and can take your hand off the controls (my plug for autopilot controls on the right side).

Sure its personal preference. Its youre plane afterall that you built, but think about task management and dont let yourself get caught using the throttle with your right hand and tuning radios with your left hand and the airplane flying by itself.

*on that note, I'll go ahead and say if youre single pilot and you fly with your approaches on a kneeboard of sorts, throw that on your left leg so that you can see it easily, no peeking around your arm and such. Also, when you go to tune radios and play with the GPS, try using the technique of placing your fingers against the panel and pushing buttons/turning knobs with your thumb/index finger. It helps in turbulence.

Oh and then practice. Youre the best at what you do the most.

good discussion

The few radios I have are in the center, but if that wasn't an option I would have put them on the left. My 696, which I'll probably fiddle with the most, is on the left. Also all my switches that would be used in flt are on the left or on the stick. The right hand console switches are only for start up and abnormals.

I biased my layout to keep my right hand on the stick as much as possible as I don't have an autopilot, but I do plan to do some very limited IFR work.

Now I just gotta figure out what to do with my EFB (ipad) .

To each his own...

Chris Hill said:

Autopilot is a crutch, an aid, and should be used as such. .....

Click to expand...

The same thing can be said about the electric starter - hand propping works just fine. Or the Artificial Horizon - anyone who can't fly to minimums with needle,ball,airspeed just isn't up to snuff.

Yeah, I'm busting your chops a little - but just to make the point that we need to keep our minds open to new ideas. Heck, remember when you started your car (or truck) by pulling on the choke? Pumping the throttle? Now you just turn the key, and the computer does the rest.

You need to know how to get the airplane safely through the skies without the autopilot - absolutely, 100% true. But a crutch? Lot of heavy-airplane pilots might disagree with you. Use all the tools available, and have a good backup plan.

There is an entire science related to cockpit layout. Lots of different things go in to it, and there are no absolute "right" answers - if you think you have THE holy grail, you've probably not looked broadly enough.

Paul

Yep

I agree with Paul, I gonna show my age a little I guess, I am from the needle and ball days with an instructor screaming in your ears, flying an adf approach with hardly any panel. The new stuff is not crutch but a really good way to ease the pilot load. We do need to always be prepared when things do not work the way they should. Panel layout is important and as mentioned there is no real set way, logic and mission task should be considered. Nice panel Paul.

bird

Sorry for the off topic, but it looks like I should have explained better the first time...I just said autopilot is a crutch/aid and SHOULD be used as such. If you RELY on it, you could end up in really tough spot the day it fails on you. I love my autopilot, but I've seen a few people who cant shoot an approach without one. Tying that back into panel layout, have your panel setup so that you can manage tasks efficiently when time/attention is a premium.

One more thought...

Most of the bases have been covered here, left vs right, some points with excessive enthusiasm... Here are a few more ideas:
* Many radios have the knobs set so that you can tune radios with your right hand from the left seat, as in a spam can. You don't want the radios in the -8 set up so that your hand blocks the screen when you're turning knobs.
* For some tasks, such as tuning, either hand is probably up to the task. But, when you get into slewing a cursor, entering a flight plan, or any of the more involved tasks, using your dominant hand becomes more advantageous.
* Swapping hands on the stick *is* clumsy, but complete the thought. If you're maneuvering the aircraft and don't have time to swap hands, do you have time to be tuning radios at that moment?
There is no completely right answer, so choose your least wrong answer.

Enjoy!

Ed Wischmeyer

All of my RV time and stick time is in my 6A. So when my 3B is finished, it WILL have engine controls on the RIGHT side and the stick will be in my LEFT hand.

The radios will be on the right and my note pad and pen will be on the right. The starter button and mag switches will be on the far left of the panel.

After engine start and mag check, the main task for my left hand is......... left-right-push- pull. And my right hand has the task of doing everything else. Oh, and my manual flaps will be on the right also.

Every camera I have ever owned could only be operated one handed by the right hand. Why would you give up such a valuable resource to just operate the control surfaces? I guess in the beginning, the heavy handed task fit the right hand, and the left hand had no problem handling the only other task........ the throttle.

Like what has been said in the past......... build the aircraft that you want. I am sure glad that I have that option.