ASEL with single door on left?

flyingcheesehead

flyingcheesehead

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Hey folks,

I've got a friend who is writing a book and trying to be accurate about the small aviation part (Hooray!!!).

The difficult thing is, he's looking for "a single-engine four-seater with a small cargo area behind the back seats that has only one door, and that door right next to the pilot."

I can't find a single such airplane! It seems like they're all either on the right, or there's two. Does anyone know of such a beast?

Thanks!
 
Nope... Can't think of one, close as I get is a Grumman or Navion with a canopy.
 
The closest I can think of is a Cessna 206, but that's a 6 seater. And it has a large cargo door on the left that pax can use to get in.
 
Anymouse said:
The closest I can think of is a Cessna 206, but that's a 6 seater. And it has a large cargo door on the left that pax can use to get in.
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Isn't there a door on the right side too though? Did Cessna really use a single door on something? :eek:
 
Some of the Navajo series have doors on the left side, the pilot door anyway. Then the pax door is in the back.
 
Navion Rangemaster -- as far as I know, it's the only postwar US ASEL with its only door on the left. It actually seats five, with cargo area next to the fifth seat.

NAVION_G_1962.JPG
 
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Just remembered one....the Waco cabin class biplanes. 4 seats with baggage behind the back bench. Single door on the left side just behind the pilot's seat. ASEL. Several models with various engines. Look up Waco UKC or UIC for starters.
 
Pilawt said:
The big double cargo doors on a C-206 are on the right.

cessna_206_1964.jpg
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Sorry, I don't know my right from my left. :rolleyes2:

Actually, the picture you posted is what I meant to describe.

flyingcheesehead said:
Isn't there a door on the right side too though? Did Cessna really use a single door on something? :eek:
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Not for the front seat. See the above picture.

One of the faults of the 206 that got fixed with the 207 was the doors. When they came out with the 207, the put on a front passenger door, and moved the rear cargo door farther back so it didn't interfere with the flaps. The way it was on the 206, if the door was open and you tried to put the flaps down, they would hit the door and damage the flaps. There was a "squat" switch on the door that would disable the flaps if the door was open. If you tried to open the door with the flaps down, you would definitely bend the door.
 
Sounds like if he really wants to be accurate he should figure out how to make his plot work with a more common configuration.
 
Just found another- Stinson V77 (Gull wing). Single door of the left and unlike the Wacos, the door is next to the pilot.
 
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Actually, Navion Rangemasters have a door on the left. This is because the wing walk on the canopy model was on the left so it carried over to board on that side.
 
I've always wondered why the entrance is typically on the passenger side. It doesn't make sense to me. There will always be a pilot, but not a passenger. There have also been times where I forgot to check something after the passenger is seated, and this requires making the passenger get out for me to leave.

Is there some safety reason the door is usually on the right side?
 
rbridges said:
I've always wondered why the entrance is typically on the passenger side. It doesn't make sense to me. There will always be a pilot, but not a passenger. There have also been times where I forgot to check something after the passenger is seated, and this requires making the passenger get out for me to leave.

Is there some safety reason the door is usually on the right side?
Click to expand...

Perhaps just because that's the way they'd always made them. Take the Piper Cub, you've got throttle linkage on the left side so you put the door on the right side. Maybe they just carried that arrangement over when side-by-side seating came along.

Here's another door mystery; why did the P-39 have two?
 
rbridges said:
I've always wondered why the entrance is typically on the passenger side. It doesn't make sense to me. There will always be a pilot, but not a passenger. There have also been times where I forgot to check something after the passenger is seated, and this requires making the passenger get out for me to leave.



Is there some safety reason the door is usually on the right side?
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More padding when you climb out of the wreckage over them. ;)
 
Anymouse said:
One of the faults of the 206 that got fixed with the 207 was the doors. When they came out with the 207, the put on a front passenger door, and moved the rear cargo door farther back so it didn't interfere with the flaps.
Click to expand...

The double doors are also why the 206 has never had the tubular main gear legs adopted on the 207 and all other Cessna high-wing piston singles built since 1972. The current T206H still has the flat spring steel gear. The double doors and flat cargo floor would interfere with the tubular gear mounts.

Actually there are some 206s with front doors on both sides. The P206 "Super Skylane", built 1965-70 concurrently with the double-doored U206, had the same door arrangement as the earlier Model 205 - two front doors, and a small, single door at the left rear.

Flying-1970s-1076.jpg


There is an STC to add a smaller right-side front door to 206s. The California Highway Patrol puts them on their 206s, and they're useful on 206 seaplanes.
 
rbridges said:
Is there some safety reason the door is usually on the right side?
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All I can think of is how often there are circuit breakers and/or fuel tank valves on the pilots side, either on the floor or sidewall that we don't want passengers stepping on when entering/exiting the airplane.
 
The Aerostar is probably the only twin with this arrangement. All passengers enter throught the on door at the pilot's seat.
 
If he's writing a book, he should just rearrange the plot to give the pilot a reason to fly right-seat in a Bonanza. That's the beauty of writing fiction.
 
Do the fly out of the right side in England? :)
 
Pilawt said:
Actually there are some 206s with front doors on both sides. The P206 "Super Skylane", built 1965-70 concurrently with the double-doored U206, had the same door arrangement as the earlier Model 205 - two front doors, and a small, single door at the left rear.
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As is the 205 otherwise known as the 210-5 & 210-5A built from 1963 to 64 I believe. All IO470 powered.
 
Henning said:
If you fly behind a British engine it would make sense. Some of the DA-20s are set up to fly from the right as well.
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I've flown behind British engines in England. Didn't notice any difference.
 
roncachamp said:
I've flown behind British engines in England. Didn't notice any difference.
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Well, for one thing the cars on the roads below you were likely driving on the "wrong" side of the road but that's probably not related to the engine you were flying behind.
 
Henning said:
If you fly behind a British engine it would make sense. Some of the DA-20s were set up to fly from the right as well.
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FTFY
I flew one of those. The AF moved the instruments back to the left before they sold them, even if the new owners wanted to keep flying from the right.
 
Fearless Tower said:
Just remembered one....the Waco cabin class biplanes. 4 seats with baggage behind the back bench. Single door on the left side just behind the pilot's seat. ASEL. Several models with various engines. Look up Waco UKC or UIC for starters.
Click to expand...

Beech Staggerwing also has one door. Behind the pilot.
 
BillTIZ said:
Beech Staggerwing also has one door. Behind the pilot.
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Not surprising at all. Walter Beech owned a Waco Cabin (YKS-6) and essentially perfected the design with the Staggerwing.
 
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