CTR From United States of America, joined Jul 2005, 303 posts, RR: 0 Reply 1, posted (6 years 10 months 1 week 5 days 16 hours ago) and read 2107 times:
Not a stupid question at all.
Pilot sits on the right in the V-22, just like a conventional helicopter.
Er... I THOUGHT it was because the pilot should be able to check the tail rotor, which supposedly was always on the right hand side on US-built helicopters (which I believed was related to the direction in which the main rotor turns).
However, not all US-built helicopters have their tail rotor on the RH side...
DL021 From United States of America, joined May 2004, 11433 posts, RR: 81 Reply 5, posted (6 years 10 months 1 week 5 days 13 hours ago) and read 2047 times:
The reason that the pilot of a helicopter sits on the right has more to do with the way the helicopter controls are situated in the cockpit.
All hands are used in this operation and the collective is controlled on the left with the right hand on the stick when you're flying right seat.
In the earlier helos the collective was situated in the middle and since most pilots seemed to be right handed they preferred to sit to the right and use their better controlled hand on the stick.
At least that's what my friend the ancient helicopter pilot (who seems to be the exception to the rule about old and bold...he flew in Korea and Vietnam and still flies helicopters today...albeit his own).
BHMBAGLOCK From United States of America, joined Jul 2005, 2698 posts, RR: 5 Reply 7, posted (6 years 10 months 1 week 5 days 11 hours ago) and read 2030 times:
Quoting DL021 (Reply 5): In the earlier helos the collective was situated in the middle and since most pilots seemed to be right handed they preferred to sit to the right and use their better controlled hand on the stick.
This is correct.
Quoting UA777222 (Thread starter): Sorry if this is a stupid question but because the aircraft is both a helicopter and an aircraft, where does the pilot sit?
Not a stupid question at all. Early on with the program this was the source of some serious pissing matches between rotary wing and fixed wing people in the military. IIRC, Bell and Boeing both agreed that right seat would make sense but some USAF General got completely bent out of shape about the "fact" that this was an airplane and pilots of airplanes sit in the left seat.
I thought he'd actually won the argument. Possible that he did and then things were switched back after he was out of the picture.
The most practical reason for PIC to be right seat is that the visibility of the refueling probe is limited from the left seat.
L-188 From United States of America, joined Jul 1999, 29350 posts, RR: 62 Reply 8, posted (6 years 10 months 1 week 5 days 7 hours ago) and read 1999 times:
Quoting DL021 (Reply 5): The reason that the pilot of a helicopter sits on the right has more to do with the way the helicopter controls are situated in the cockpit.
All hands are used in this operation and the collective is controlled on the left with the right hand on the stick when you're flying right seat.
In the earlier helos the collective was situated in the middle and since most pilots seemed to be right handed they preferred to sit to the right and use their better controlled hand on the stick.
At least that's what my friend the ancient helicopter pilot (who seems to be the exception to the rule about old and bold...he flew in Korea and Vietnam and still flies helicopters today...albeit his own).
The other version I have heard is that no less the Igor Sikorsky would set in the traditional left hand seat while flight instructing and the student sat in the left.
Thus the right seat became the command seat in helicopters.
OBAMA-WORST PRESIDENT EVER....Even SKOORB would be better.
CTR From United States of America, joined Jul 2005, 303 posts, RR: 0 Reply 9, posted (6 years 10 months 1 week 5 days 3 hours ago) and read 1971 times:
Quoting DL021 (Reply 5): In the earlier helos the collective was situated in the middle and since most pilots seemed to be right handed they preferred to sit to the right and use their better controlled hand on the stick.
Building on what DL021 said. In the earliest helos 60 years ago, every gram of weight was critical, also cockpits were as narrow as possible to reduce both fuselage area under the rotor and frontal area.
For these reasons it made common sense to install a single collective lever between the seats to save weight and keep the cockit as narrow as possible. As helos became larger and engines more powerfull, adding a second collective lever became much less of an issue.
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