Originally Posted by
helidriver
In my experience, with the British Army Air Corps, the pilot sits on the right so that switches can be effected with the left hand thereby keeping control of the cyclic. If the aircraft has a crew of 2 then the Aircraft Commander sits on the left allowing the pilot to fly while he or she operates the aircraft sensors or navigation equipment. In the Apache, the Aircraft Commander normally sits in the front for the very same reason.
Hope this helps,
h
Well you learn something new everyday! A chum of mine, a Hercules Captain, many many years ago, was out of his seat having a stretch, when one of his passengers, an army subaltern came up front to see the view. My friend was asked what he did, and explained that he was the Aircraft Captain. "Where do you sit?" asked his passenger, "Over there", he said indicating his vacant seat. "Isn't that where the pilot sits?", he was asked. " I am the pilot", he stated. "Good God man, don't you have a competent NCO to do that?", replied his astonished guest. We put all this down to the idea that a tank or jeep driver could be continuously ordered to turn left, go faster, slow down, stop etc., but now it has taken on a different dimension if the same orders can be effected in the air!