Left Handed or Right Handed?

[mr.nys]

Good evening all.
Do fast jet pilots fly with their left or right hands on the yoke normally, or does it vary from airplane to airplane?

[BEagle]

Most fast jets do not have a 'yoke', they have a 'joystick' type control column.

I'm not sure, but I think that the only high performance RAF aircraft with a 'yoke' are the VC10 and the PR9?

[Background Noise]

They don't have a yoke generally but have a single 'stick' usually in the middle, between the legs. Throttle(s) are on the left side outside the left thigh. So it is right hand on stick, left on throttle.

[The Rocket]

The only time you will use your left hand on the control column, is to steady it whilst selecting switches on the right hand control panel.

For example, on the mighty Flying Flick-knife, refuelling, adjusting lighting, recycling failed generators etc, are all occasions where you would need to use your right hand to operate switches, and your left to steady the control column.


Forgive my use of the phrase "Flying flick-knife", if it's any consolation, I've made MYSELF feel nauseous :ugh:

[exleckie]

The mighty Herc employs a yoke which looks a bit like a batmobile steering wheel.

Most modern fighters now use HOTAS which is Hands On Throttle And Stick which means certain functions relative to the aircraft type can be carried out on the LH throttle, whilst aircraft attitude can be maintained via the control column which also has other essential functions on it.

However, in single seat or twin sticker format, it is always throttle left, control column right.

This does not preclude left hookers from flying though. That will be dependant on hand / eye co-ordination.

Hope this helps.

[psy clops]

...adjusting lighting, recycling failed generators etc don't forget the most vital - throttle rock test...

Psy

[Onan the Clumsy]

The only time you will use your left hand on the control column, is to steady it whilst selecting switches on the right hand control panel. I can think of one other, albeit similar occasion :=

[aluminium persuader]

Left-handed or right-handed, it doesn't bother me;
I'm amphibious!

:)

[TyroPicard]

There again, if you flew a Lightning T5 from the right hand seat .... it was left hand on the control column, right hand on throttles! No centre pedestal, unlike the T4.

TP

[lightningmate]

Likewise the Canberra T4, with a Yoke of course - and a swinging ejection seat. Not an experience one remembers with much affection!

lm

[Sloppy Link]

Rotary are all cyclic right, collective left. A left hooker has the advantage of being able to write things down without the dodgy practice of trying to fly with your left hand. There was a celebrated QHI who, whilst trying to demonstrate a particular manoevre from the left hand seat tried to fly using his cyclic and the students collective (ooo-er missus!). The resultant crash, incident signal and BoI report provided much merriment.

[The Rocket]

don't forget the most vital - throttle rock test...

A: Why would you class that as being "most vital"? I can land without thrust reverse/lift dump, but with 2 failed gennys I may be "on the ground" sooner than I'd like!!

B: I'd not really be happy checking the throt rock test whilst in the cruise, or whilst hammering down the A5 pass at 400+kts

C: Or am I taking it all a bit to heart because it's friday night and I may or may not have been "hammering down" the Wolfblass!!!

Onan,

Yes, having a broken arm is a bummer isn't it:p :p :p

[charliegolf]

sloppy

There was a celebrated QHI who..............

Please, please elaborate!

CG

[ShyTorque]

Yes, let's know who the guilty barstool was......

Not me, being a left-hander, I realised just in time that my right hand had to pull up on the Gazelle collective as we went rapidly down from the hover (I adjusted the collective friction with the "wrong" hand whilst flying LHS). Mind you, one second later we went over the fence by South point backwards at 50 feet.... Impressed the stude and ATC no end :\

[Sloppy Link]

You are testing my memory but as I recall, it was at Shawbury in a Gazelle about 17 years ago. I recall no serious injuries apart from pride, how his career went I know not. I'm fairly certain he was RAF and was fairly senior within the QHI world. Any one from Shawbury remember any more?

[ShyTorque]

After my scare in the Gazelle I went back in and fronted up to my flight commander. It was a trap for a QHI that I hadn't thought of before, although I had previously flown a helicopter "wrong handed", it was in the cruise without power changes, not the hover.

The wrong-handed Gazelle hover trap goes like this:

You are in the left seat. In the hover at the departure point the student asks you to take control as he has got the wrong navex chart in his hand.

You take control. You realise that the collective friction is far too tight, which probably explains the students erratic hover taxy height. You take the cyclic in your left hand and reach across to unwind the collective friction sleeve (situated on right seater's collective lever) with your right hand. You are now hovering "wrong handed".

Having unwound the friction, the collective drops a little and the aircraft descends. Brain tells left hand to raise collective as per normal; unfortunately left hand is on cyclic and moves it aft. Aircraft moves backwards, aircraft still sinking.

Brain tells right hand to move cyclic forward to prevent aft motion but it lowers collective instead, increasing sink rate!

Brain tells left hand to raise collective but it moves cyclic aft again instead.

Brain panics and tells right hand to stop now increasing rearwards motion. Right hand lowers collective......

By now the aircraft has probably hit the ground, with rapid backwards motion!

As I said, my brain suddenly "untoppled" itself. As I pulled the collective UP we went upwards and back, over the boundary fence of the airfield, fortunately without hitting anything and only my pride dented. For a couple of seconds I had been completely out of control!

I thought this was a nasty accident waiting to happen so I went back in and said we all needed to be aware of it - I certainly hadn't been warned of the danger of this. The Flight Commander scathingly told me it was a one-off stupidity on my part.

Three weeks later he went out flying a GH solo in the left seat (not allowed) and he did just the same thing, but he hit the frange very hard and nearly took the tail off at Chetwynd. I told him my one-off stupidity seemed to be contagious. After that they included a warning in the CFS course and made QHIs have a go at flying cross-handed. Most folks said they would have crashed if the staff QHI hadn't been there. I put my narrow escape down to being ambidextrous with my brain being wired up a bit different to right handers!

Watch out, the Gazelle is still out there!

[Art Field]

I recall a trip in a Victor with a captain who was being considered to become an Air to Air Refuelling Instructor and therefore needed to be receiver qualified in the right hand seat. All went well until contact was made on the hose and the aircraft got a little high and close. At this point the student pulled back on the throttle hand to drop back but in this seat that hand was now on the stick so we went further up and forward so he applied more back and we got even closer and forward. Enough I thought,"I have" says I and pushed forward on the stick. Unfortunately the stud had twigged at the same time and had also just correctly pushed forward. the Victor plummeted down and two Navigators and an AEO found themselves attached to the roof in spite of being strapped in. The debrief was somewhat pointed and the captain moved on to other challenges.

[Testingtheseatlimit]

Once had a QFI on the Sqn (Age: Mid-thirties) who used to struggle with his writing, effectively looked as if he was chiseling his name into the auth sheets with a result of writing akin to my 5 year old. Doc spotted this at Med Centre and asked him to try writing with other hand.... hey presto... cue free flowing caligraphy. Seems he had spent first 30 writing years using wrong hand. You have to wonder!! Bloody good pilot though.

[teeteringhead]

Shy and Sloppy

I well recall the wrong-handed-flight-commander incident at Strawbs. The flt cdr in question was only promoted twice after that incident, so you can see the affect on his career;)

What amazed me at the time was that no-one on the east side (Teeters was in portacabins at RAF Hadnall) noticed the Gaz start up and taxi with a solo pilot in the LHS. And I particularly include the denizens of the Brown House and the Champagne and Flowers Squadron in that.

It was only part of the reason for the inclusion of the "wrong hands demo" on the CFS course. That was also brought in to remind QHI studes of their own initial flying and inability to hover, thereby increasing student empathy (it says here)... it certainly stopped a lot of the "For ****'s sake Bloggs, just hover it!!" by said studes on the Ex 5/6 give (did I get the numbers right??)

[PPRuNeUser0172]

I myself am ambidexterous;)

[ShyTorque]

Teeters,

Yes, I remember the other reason for the demo being as you stated. I don't think it was particularly valid because a qualified pilot would have certain expectations about how the controls worked because of his trained and practised skills. When a trained pilot flies "wrong-handed" the controls do something else. A student doesn't suffer from that - he only knows that he has to learn a new skill, not "unlearn" an ingrained one and then relearn a new one in a split second.

I also recall someone telling me that the problem was known about in the days of the Sycamore, where the collective was a single control in the middle of the cockpit. QHIs had to be able to safely fly from both seats, flying "wrong-handed" when in the left seat.

Were we 1 Sqn colleagues in 1984/85?

[L Peacock]

psy clops, the rocket

What does throttle rock test require you to do with your right hand??

[Mmmmnice]

I thiink the 'wrong handed' Gazelle thing came to a head when the QHI crashed/heavy landed in Follies (or one of the other CAs in that part of the world). As he put it to me "....so I floored the collective as we went through the level attitude". Oh the joys of instruction!!

[teeteringhead]

Shy Torque

I agree that the flt cdr incident is most likely the real reason, but probably not politick to publicize: "OK Bloggs, on this sortie we'll demonstrate how a (now) senior officer fecked up when he was a flt cdr here!"

....I don't think so .....

The Sycamore probably did have a bearing on it (no, it was before my time, but the late and much lamented George McCracken used to speak at length about it). The Sycamore, IIRC, also had a manual throttle (only!) which ran athwartships rather than fore-and-aft (if you see what I mean) as a sort of T-piece on the end of the single, central collective. Poor QHI had not only to fly wrong handed, but turn the throttle the "wrong" way ... but I guess men were men in them days ...

... I was on 1 Sqn in 79/81 when the Gaz first came into basic, in 84/85 I was back at EGOS flying the Big Boys' coal-fired council houses on 2 Sqn ....

[The Rocket]

L Peacock,

The throttle rock test switch is situated at the back of the right hand side panel, near to the fuel temp gauges, and Nh/Nl governor test switch. When operated, dolls eyes confirm that both throttle rock microswitches (one for T/Rev, one for Lift Dump) are operating correctly. One of the many pre flight checks.

It's location is such that you operate with your right hand.

[L Peacock]

Rocket

Not in any tornado I've seen.

[The Rocket]

L Peacock,

My mistake, you're completely right. A drunken reply to the original post had me confused somewhat. The dolls eyes are back there, but no switch of course, only APU and gov test switches

I'll get back in my hole.

What does throttle rock test require you to do with your right hand??

It requires me to make a large L shape on my forehead:p

[nibi786]

we are still going on about what hands pilots use to control the aircraft RIGHT?LOL, in the tutor its left - right on throttles etc

[L Peacock]

rocket

apologies for the pedantry

lp:ok:

[Two's in]

Being a left handed rotary pilot is great for writing on kneeboards, but when I was exceeding my learning capacity on basic rotary and subsequently being interviewed by the CFI at Wallop (the Lord you know who); he spotted I was left handed and determined this was why I was overcontrolling (a lack of sensitivity in my right (cyclic) hand). He gave me 5 more hours and sent me back to my ex-military instructor. The gruff old wise one just looked at me and pointed out I was overcontrolling because I was a lazy, idle, useless wazzock, and not because I had the mark of the devil, and if I wanted to get as far as wings parade I had better switch on and tune in . After following his advice, and unfortunately for Aviation, according to my flying record folder I subsequently "reached a satisfactory piloting standard despite having no natural ability whatsoever", but still to this day have the neatest handwriting on any kneeboard, anywhere.

[ShyTorque]

An' good on yer! :ok:

[50+Ray]

In days of old the Vulcan conversion to left hand seat was about getting used to a stick in the left hand and throttles in the right. For the taller aviators it also meant leaning the head to the right rather than left. The Dominie (still struggling on?) had a rams horn type yoke, the only reason for which I was ever given was "just like Concorde being built at the same time". It was a bit strange to formate from the right hand seat.
Bulldog students had to fly left stick, right throttle, Grob the same(?), but the Firefly 260, thanks to Uncle Sam has controls in the right places because it is soloed in the right hand seat.

[Hobo]

50+

The Dominie was the HS125. The Trident , HS121, had a Ramshorn. I think Concord had a Ramshorn because of these 2, after all so few Concordes were made it would seen strange to make a special one for them although I don't think it was exactly the same design.

[Skylark4]

The "RAF" grob 115 is soloed from the RH seat so is throttle left, stick right. Some earlier models had yokes and I think some have LH throttles for both seats

Mike W

[oldbeefer]

SL and ST

Seem to remember the individual has been known as 'Bob the Bastard' - but that may just be the name given him by a certain Navy QHI at Shawbs a few years ago. Think the first bit of his name is correct though (not sure about the rest!). The aircraft was written off though!! ( in Follies, I believe).