VansAirForceForums  
Home > VansAirForceForums

- POSTING RULES
- Donate yearly (please).
- Advertise in here!

- Today's Posts | Insert Pics

  #21  
Old 04-06-2016, 11:00 AM
MercFE MercFE is offline
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Maple Valley, WA
Posts: 273
Default Down for on...

Down for on is standard for just about every switch on Boeing products...

Although the position and strobe switch is set up with off in the middle...
Reply With Quote
  #22  
Old 04-06-2016, 11:04 AM
MercFE MercFE is offline
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Maple Valley, WA
Posts: 273
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Greg Arehart View Post
Yes, also in NZ. Has something to do with being in the southern hemisphere, just like how the toilet cycles the opposite direction to what it does when you flush in the northern hemisphere....
When I flew a military plane down to Australia, half the crew immediately went to the bathroom to test out this theory. They were completely baffled by the fact that the toilets were going the same way as they would back up north...

One of the Aussie customs guys overheard their conversation and had to set them straight. Toilets have ramps built to cause an artificial swirl... You need to test this on water draining from a resting pool, i.e. a sink.
Reply With Quote
  #23  
Old 04-06-2016, 02:50 PM
Canadian_JOY Canadian_JOY is offline
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 2,291
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by MercFE View Post
Down for on is standard for just about every switch on Boeing products...

Although the position and strobe switch is set up with off in the middle...
Not to be too curmudgeonly, but I suspect the term "down" in this statement may be subject to some interpretation. If switches are located in the overhead, this denomination of "up" and "down" really gets muddy. Mix that in with a user's perspective (sitting in the pilot's chair, or reaching forward from the FE's chair) and it's amazing to see how many different interpretations one can come up with!

The standards document which Boeing provided in the first part of this century as a design guideline to vendors clarified this wording by stating that the preferred ON position is either "up" for a switch mounted on a vertical panel, or "forward" for a switch mounted on a non-vertical panel accessed by the flight crew (ie the overhead panel). There was also similar wording for pushbutton switches; I can't recall the exact statement but it would generally be interpreted to say that a pushbutton is intended to actuate the function when the button is depressed, thus the "pushed in" state is the desired ON state.
Reply With Quote
  #24  
Old 04-06-2016, 05:31 PM
rightrudder rightrudder is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Laguna Hills, CA
Posts: 1,805
Default

Intuition is a pretty powerful driving force. Take the flap switch....mine's a pretty standard paddle extension on a toggle switch. Up to retract, down to deploy, mimicking the physical action of the flaps themselves. Agreed, most have ours rigged that way, but you get the point. Push in the throttle for max power, just like you'd push down on a car's accelerator pedal...both move away from you for more speed. Of course, label everything for good measure and DAR satisfaction.

With a lifetime spent flipping light switches up for on, it's hard to argue with that intuition, not to mention habit and muscle memory. As it applies to lights, I also like to think of it as: sun rises (up); sun sets (down).
__________________
Doug
RV-9A "slider"
Flew to Osh in 2017, 2018 & 2019!
Tail number N427DK
Donation made for 2020
You haven't seen a tree until you've seen its shadow from the sky -- Amelia Earhart
Reply With Quote
Reply


Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 02:28 AM.


The VAFForums come to you courtesy Delta Romeo, LLC. By viewing and participating in them you agree to build your plane using standardized methods and practices and to fly it safely and in accordance with the laws governing the country you are located in.