Is it correct?
 

Dear colleagues,

I have a query and I would appreaciate if you could clarify it. I am a FI and I work in a flying club, my question is: If I do a non instructional flight and I am the PIC in a single pilot aircraft, can I seat on the right hand seat and allow someone to seat on the left seat?

I have gone through the aircraft flight manuals (C172, PA28 and DA20) and they do not specify (or I could not find it) where the pilot must seat. I know that ICAO annex 6 part II (4.15) says that the flight crew shall be at his/her station during the flight, so I assume that it is the left seat, is that right?

I am sorry if this has been asked before but I did not find anything using the search engine.

Thanks in advance! :ok:

Yes. But why?

Why? Because after 200 hrs LHS and 1700 hrs RHS I felt more comfortable in the RHS.

To be honest, I have no idea if any document specifies where I have to sit on a non-instructional flight.

You can sit where ever you can reach all required controls and achieve full and free movement of them if there is nothing in the flight manual that dictates where the pilot should sit.

Some aircraft do stipulate that this aircraft should only be flown solo from front/back seat etc and this should be adhered to as it would be a flight manual limitation. It should also be placarded in the aircraft.

I do quite often fly a 152 solo from the RHS as I am equally comfortable (and proficient) in flying from both LHS and RHS. Equally so the 172. The PA28 is a different story though - as I struggle to reach the fuel selector from the RHS!

This theme has already been heatedly discussed hier.

With all respect, you are not very adaptable are you?

Personally I teach and examine from the RHS and fly from the LHS without issue.

I've got about equal LHS/RHS PA-28 time now, but sometimes I straddle the LH and RH seat, and sit in the middle (MHS?) to mix it up a little. Flap deployment is a little interesting though. :}

Are you sure its the flap lever you are pulling on.....:p

That's an interesting conclusion from what I said…

I had no intention to provoke. The OP asked if he could sit RHS on a non-instructional flight. You asked; why? I'd rather ask; why not? I take it as the OP is a flight instructor. He should be proficient in RHS. He can legally operate from RHS as an instructor. Why would he not be able to do the same with a passenger?

I was thought provoking in response to your post really.

When I fly and take a passenger I will sit in the LHS regardless. Otherwise it's just like a teaching flight!!

Should instructors spend a certain amount of time in the left hand seat anyhow - to maintain familiarity with the set of ergonomics they're training somebody for? (And a certain amount of time actually doing all the handling, checks and RT themselves, for similar reasons.)

G

Thank you all for your responses! As usually this forum was very helpful :D

Regarding why? Just because I like to do things right, I have got more or less the same hours on both sides so I feel the same comfortable (that means that my flying is crap no matter what seat I use :E)

Intertesting thought. I will admit, there are aircraft I instruct in which I have never flown from the left hand seat, only ever from the right. I'm sure I'm not the only instructor where this is the case.

The last time I went up in the left was to "check out" a new instructor. I found when we were doing steep turns I could barely keep the thing level on the 1st one, even though I thought I knew what the attitude should be (obviously the opposite way round).

Other than that there's no noticable difference going from the left seat to the right. Sometimes people over think it saying if you went to go around and got confused, you could push the controls forward with your right hand and pull the throttle back with your left as you are used to from the left seat. In real life I don't see this happening.

....or left...?

I am happy to fly our Slingsby from either seat - it even has a left hand throttle for both seats to make it easy.

I tend to switch back to the LHS when I am flying with a passenger for fun, just to remind myself I am not flying as instructor.

If the pilot flying is required to occupy a particular seat (Piper Cub, Cessna Caravan, for example), it will be stated with either a placard, Flight Manual limitation, or both. If not stated, it is not limiting.

Front, back, left, right should not matter, the airplane flies the same regardless of where you sit. The only caveat is if you have only ever flown left seat then you will initially find everything "wrong" when you fly from the right. In particular you will unconsciously yaw the aircraft to the left in the landing flare which will rather mess up your landing :O. However with a bit of practice it will all fall into place.

My recommendation is if you you want to learn to fly from the RHS get a check out with an instructor.

Left, correct? Right wrong? Or right wrong, left correct?

I once had to fly a modification test flight in a 172, and the "Chief Pilot" came along. He mentioned that he was going to do refresher training for his four pilots the following week. Once I was done, I said "while I'm sitting here (left seat) you should practice a few circuits, if you're going to be checking out from that side."

His first two landings were really bad, the third one I took away from him, becasue damage to the plane was imminent. I suggested some refresher training right seat for him.

I can only give you the USA answer which means to contact the insurance company. They may specify that the PIC need to be LHS unless an instructional flight is taking place in which case only a approved (employee) instructor can sit RHS.
As a school we have a specific rule that states exactly that. This to prevent that non-FI renters are "teaching" their buddies.