Are all captains left handed?
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Are all captains left handed?
Often wondered this.
Most of us are right handed so I would guess the majority of FO's feel comfortable in the right seat etc...but how do they deal with the change in orientation as they move into the left seat.
Iam 100% right handed so cannot imagine how tricky it might be to have to use my left hand on the yoke and my right hand on the throttles. It feels bad enough in the car steering with my left hand only on the wheel.
Most of us are right handed so I would guess the majority of FO's feel comfortable in the right seat etc...but how do they deal with the change in orientation as they move into the left seat.
Iam 100% right handed so cannot imagine how tricky it might be to have to use my left hand on the yoke and my right hand on the throttles. It feels bad enough in the car steering with my left hand only on the wheel.
It's a complete non issue.
In my career I have:
1. Learned on a piston engine trainer, left hand on yoke, right hand on throttle.
2. Consolidate hours in various tail-draggers with a joystick, right hand on stick, left on throttle.
3. Worked in the left seat of a multi piston twin, left hand yoke, right hand throttles.
4. Been an FO in a couple of types, right hand on yoke, left on thrust/power levers.
5. Been a captain on a couple of types, left hand on yoke, right on thrust/power levers.
Never had a problem swapping from one to the other and am firmly right handed.
In my career I have:
1. Learned on a piston engine trainer, left hand on yoke, right hand on throttle.
2. Consolidate hours in various tail-draggers with a joystick, right hand on stick, left on throttle.
3. Worked in the left seat of a multi piston twin, left hand yoke, right hand throttles.
4. Been an FO in a couple of types, right hand on yoke, left on thrust/power levers.
5. Been a captain on a couple of types, left hand on yoke, right on thrust/power levers.
Never had a problem swapping from one to the other and am firmly right handed.
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I'm left handed - have never had any problem driving cars with right hand or left hand drive.
My limited flying experience is nearly all right seat in C152/172 with a yoke, no problem flying right handed and had a trial lesson in a C152, left seat, left hand, no problem again.
Flying gliders with a stick however, my natural hand was the left - clonk round back of the head with a clip board from the instructor - "right hand m'boy, need your left hand for the cable release and spoilers - don't want to be changing hands during launch or landing do we...!"
I found flying right handed with a stick very hard but I suppose that had I persevered I would have trained it eventually.
My limited flying experience is nearly all right seat in C152/172 with a yoke, no problem flying right handed and had a trial lesson in a C152, left seat, left hand, no problem again.
Flying gliders with a stick however, my natural hand was the left - clonk round back of the head with a clip board from the instructor - "right hand m'boy, need your left hand for the cable release and spoilers - don't want to be changing hands during launch or landing do we...!"
I found flying right handed with a stick very hard but I suppose that had I persevered I would have trained it eventually.
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I was for a while a right seat checked captain in the A320 so I might have done 2 days as Captain in the left, the next day as an FO in the right seat, then back to the left for a few days etc. It isn't a problem.
It doesn't make a difference to me which hand I use to fly although in life I am firmly right handed. I think the bigger problem potentially with swapping between seats is the muscle memory on the go around under stress. An airline (a320) had a captain under training who instead of fire-walling the thrust levers and pulling the nose up did the opposite (as he would have done previously as an FO) Right hand back left hand forward ie chop the thrust and shove the nose down...
It doesn't make a difference to me which hand I use to fly although in life I am firmly right handed. I think the bigger problem potentially with swapping between seats is the muscle memory on the go around under stress. An airline (a320) had a captain under training who instead of fire-walling the thrust levers and pulling the nose up did the opposite (as he would have done previously as an FO) Right hand back left hand forward ie chop the thrust and shove the nose down...
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I've often wondered this about Airbuses. Looks to me to be rather a glaring issue, but not according to the denizens of this thread.
Another thing I have wondered is whether all captains are called Nigel
Another thing I have wondered is whether all captains are called Nigel
I've often wondered this about Airbuses. Looks to me to be rather a glaring issue, but not according to the denizens of this thread.
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Most people on this planet are right handed and do steer their car with the left hand without problems or even thinking about it!
Having said that, I still think that the percentage of left handers
in aviation is higher than in the general population but that sure is for other reasons.
Having said that, I still think that the percentage of left handers
in aviation is higher than in the general population but that sure is for other reasons.
Avoid imitations
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Not all captains are left handed. But the best ones are.
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Topic in question has a distinct U.K. bias. Remember this topic was started by a person who drives on the left side of the road and from a position situated on the right side of the vehicle.
A huge percentage of the world learned to drive on the exact opposite (right) side of the road from the left side of the automobile. The captain's seat feels entirely comfortable to me..always has.
A huge percentage of the world learned to drive on the exact opposite (right) side of the road from the left side of the automobile. The captain's seat feels entirely comfortable to me..always has.
I doubt that is relevant. I also come from a country that drives on the left side of the road and feel perfectly comfortable in the left seat of an aeroplane, or the right seat, or the middle.
Interestingly enough I did have some muscle memory problems when transitioning to the left seat of a Dash 8 from the right seat, but it wasn't right seat muscle memory that was getting me, it was left seat muscle memory from a piston twin. During the upgrade sessions in the sim I would occasionally raise my right hand up to the overhead panel when I wanted to apply some elevator trim. The trim in the Aero Commander, my previous left seat aircraft, was in the ceiling.
Interestingly enough I did have some muscle memory problems when transitioning to the left seat of a Dash 8 from the right seat, but it wasn't right seat muscle memory that was getting me, it was left seat muscle memory from a piston twin. During the upgrade sessions in the sim I would occasionally raise my right hand up to the overhead panel when I wanted to apply some elevator trim. The trim in the Aero Commander, my previous left seat aircraft, was in the ceiling.
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The "requirement" for [fixed wing] captains to sit on the left may have been derived from the rule that aircraft flying along a line feature such as a railway line must keep to the right - that in turn seems to have been derived from the nautical rule that ships heading in opposite directions should pass port side to port side. If the captain is following such a line feature he needs to be able to see it, so sitting on the left should give a better view.
Bear in mind that most commercial pilots will have done most of their flying training sitting on the left, so it should not be as unnatural as it may seem to use the left hand. Indeed, there is an argument that moving to the right hand seat may need more adjustment but - as others have implied - by the time someone gets to be a first officer, using either hand is not a great issue.
Bear in mind that most commercial pilots will have done most of their flying training sitting on the left, so it should not be as unnatural as it may seem to use the left hand. Indeed, there is an argument that moving to the right hand seat may need more adjustment but - as others have implied - by the time someone gets to be a first officer, using either hand is not a great issue.
"I can only hover a helicopter with my right hand on the cyclic. Left hand and I lose control I am not alone in this. Don't try without an instructor in the other seat."
I've only flown a couple of Robinsons and a Schweizer. If you're hovering, you need your left hand on the collective (and there is a collective to the left of both seats). Are there any types with a collective on the right?
I've only flown a couple of Robinsons and a Schweizer. If you're hovering, you need your left hand on the collective (and there is a collective to the left of both seats). Are there any types with a collective on the right?
