Which hand do you prefer to use...

[Squeegee Longtail]

...on the throttle? Me, I prefer left hand on throttle, right hand on stick (assuming the throttle is on the left of course!).
I learned on conventional setup (ie centre throttle) but immediately liked the left side throttle arrangement once I tried it.

Anyone agree?

[S-Works]

Horses for courses.

[Rod1]

It is not quite that simple. I learned on Gliders, so right hand on stick, left on airbrake. If I am flying a single seat I always fly right handed. However in a DR400 there is a throttle on the left, but nothing else. To fly a go around from 200ft you open the throttle with your left hand, swap hands, and push the carb heat in with your right hand, not good! In this case I fly left handed.

Rod1

[SNS3Guppy]

It makes no difference.

One airplane requires you to fly with your left hand on the stick, another the right. Even the same airplane, swapping one seat for the other in a side-by-side seating arrangement, requires swapping hands. Think in terms of what you want the airplane to do, rather than what inputs you make with your hands, and very quickly you won't notice which hand is doing what.

[S-Works]

guppy says in more eloquent words exactly what I said, horses for courses.

Being flexible and adaptive makes it much easier to move between types.

[Pace]

No hands :) just stick it on auto jump in the back and do a crossword ? and who has their hands on the throttles anyway ? :) (only joking but I know a few who have to be told to put their hand there :)

Believe going off subject a little there was an RAF technique for turning which involved rudder followed by aeleron to centre the ball and another using rudder with the aircraft trimmed in level flight to hold a heading thus iliminating hands for other uses.

Throttles maybe voice control :) ??? up up or lower lower comes to mind for future development. But really it doesnt matter and its good practice to get used to flying from both sides

Pace

[Cusco]

Just like renting a car in Europe/USA:

You 'switch' instinctively before you've left the car lot............

Well, I do, but then I'm ambidextrous.

(I just haven't 'come out' yet):p

Cusco;)

[DenhamPPL]

Depends what side I'm sitting!

[Contacttower]

Generally prefer right hand stick and left hand throttle.

[airborne_artist]

The first aircraft I flew in training was the Chipmunk - left hand throttle, right hand on the stick. So of course the Bulldog which came next was the other way round when sitting in the LHS.

Perfectly happy with either as a result, which was good, because the next one had right hand on the stick and a strange hand-brake type thingy in the left hand :ok:

[Contacttower]

So of course the Bulldog which came next was the other way round when sitting in the LHS.

Veering slightly off topic; AA do you know why the Grob 115 is soloed from the right by the RAF? Always wondered.

[MIKECR]

Which hand do you prefer to use...

My girlfriends..!:E

well somebody had to say it!

[Squeegee Longtail]

...now that's the kind of thread I was hoping to start! except that in the back of my mind I kinda knew I would get a load of self-important sh1t from the usual guys.

[Chuck Ellsworth]

A real expert can gain a stroke changing hands. :E

[MIKECR]

Squeegee,

No doubt they'll be experts in this field too...!!!: If one more person tells us theyve got an IR or flies airways all the time....gee's give us a break!! :rolleyes:

[Right Stuff]

Contact Tower -

115 Soloed from the right to acclimatise pilots to left hand throttle right hand stick as it will be from there on in. All primary instruments etc. are on the right.

[IFMU]

I learned to fly in a PA12. Right hand stick, left hand throttle. I transitioned to helicopter, same thing plus collective in the left hand. Later, when I transitioned to Cessnas, it was not hard to fly with the yoke in the left and use the right hand for the throttle. Flying with either hand with a yoke seems natural, but for some reason if I switch hands in an airplane with a stick it feels weird. Probably because I haven't done it much.

-- IFMU

[n5296s]

I don't think it matters. I fly the Pitts mainly with my right hand on the stick and left for the throttle when needed, but in cruise I'll sometimes swap over (not that you do MUCH cruising in the Pitts but you have to get to and from the practice area).

My 182 I fly with my left hand on the yoke, right hand for throttle, radio etc.

I learned Acro on a 115 and that was left hand for the stick, right for the throttle. I also flew an SR20 for a while (not impressed), and that was LH for the side-yoke, RH for the throttle etc.

I've never flown from the right seat but if I did I guess I'd fly with my right hand - if it's a side-stick or -yoke you don't have much choice.

Incidentally the Marchetti is also a side-by-side plane with primary flying on the right, for the same reason as the RAF 115s.

n5296s / n15ta (in this case)

[Lookforshooter]

I switch seats in planes and helos...but for longer trips, I hold the coffee cup and book in either hand. :)

[airborne_artist]

AA do you know why the Grob 115 is soloed from the right by the RAF? Always wondered.

I didn't, but read this (http://www.todayspilot.com/flight_tests/jan03/1p1.html) and this (http://www.raf.mod.uk/equipment/vigilantt1.cfm), and all is clear :ok:

[Pilot DAR]

My opinion is the same as that expressed by SNS3Guppy. Your just fly the aircraft, don't think about your hands. Depending upon the aircraft type, you may not have a choice about hands anyway.

I was reminded long ago that you don't use your mind to control your hands to control an aircraft, you just use your mind to control the aircraft, and don't worry about the rest. This was made quite apparent to me as I dug a trench with my excavator (two hands on two controls operating four funtions). As the bucket came and went with the desired precision, I took a moment to glance at my hands. They were moving around as though they had a mind of their own, I was not controlling them. My mind wanted the bucket to move - it did, what my hands did in the mean time was unimportant. I allow my mind to fly aircraft in the same way, and it works very well.

Oh, and I'm not an expert on the excavator - it's just a toy. I don't fly it IFR, or on airways. It's maximum speed is 1.2 KMH, and I would forever have ATC asking me to keep the speed up.

Pilot DAR

[Lister Noble]

"Report position"

"
Operating 6 feet below ground level"

That will fox 'em

Lister:)

[effortless]

Sometimes I use my left and sometimes I use my right. But the most memorable time was when I grasped the yoke with both hands and screamed.

[rauxaman]

>>>...on the throttle? Me, I prefer left hand on throttle<<<

I prefer to sit on my throttle hand until it goes numb then pretend someone else is working it :E

[Squeegee Longtail]

"I prefer to sit on my throttle hand until it goes numb then pretend someone else is working it "
...On take off and approach? Good one!! :}

[Gargleblaster]

I always use my right hand except when flying. Was once at a "party" in Bangladesh with a poor Dutch guy who was left-handed. Poor guy, he was eating with with his "dirty" hand. Reminds me of this simple joke: The elephant stares at Tarzan (naked) in amazement: "Hahaha, how do you eat with THAT ?".

Did I misunerstand the question ? Guess I did... Now, wheeeerrre's my car keys ?

[rauxaman]

We went for a curry meal at a newly made Bangladeshi acquaintance... we were all dipping our hands into the pot when I politely asked what he did for a job... he told me was in charge of the VD clinic at the local hospital... the curry tasted differently after that relevation :)