First right seat lesson

[jmaynard]

The weather looked kinda sucky when I went out to the airport to see what was going on. My instructor flew back in while I was there, with a dead alternator in his Arrow. We poked at it for a while, and when he gave up for the day, I suggested we go flying, with me in the right seat.

He had me treat it like an initial demonstration flight, with just takeoff, landing, and straight and level flight. I talked him through it all, and he said I did pretty well.

After that, I stayed in the pattern and did a couple of touch and goes from the right seat. As expected, they sucked, but not too badly for the first time I'd ever landed with my right hand. I did have one instance of doing the wrong thing with each hand, and decided that a go-around was the better part of valor. The other problem I had was that I flew the pattern too far out on downwind and base, helped by a stiffening crosswind.

I definitely need more practice, but then I knew that. I'm going to go up again with me in the right seat and him in the left on a nice calm morning and do it some more, and then I hope I'll be good enough that I can do it myself.

 

[Teller1900]

It's trippy, isn't it! It took me a couple flights to get comfortable in the right seat, and probably at least a week of flying in that seat almost every day to get anywhere near as proficient as I was in the left. Now, after two years of right seat only, it's just as hard for me on the very rare occasion that I sit in the left. The last time I sat in the left seat, I punched the window pretty hard when I reached for the throttle with the wrong hand.

 

[KennyFlys]

When demonstrating actions to the student on the ground, I find myself doing many things with my left hand just like I'd be reaching for items in the plane. Oops!

I haven't been in the left seat in over a year, now. I'm not sure how I'd do moving back. It was weird for the instructor riding in the left seat when I was working on the II.

 

[ScottM]

Flying from the right seat is not too hard to figure out, using the instrument is a little weirder due to parallax errors and the movement of your head will 'cause a bit more likelihood of spatial disorientation. But it just takes time, soon you will get the site pictures down for landings

 

[dmccormack]

Crosswinds messed me up the first few times in the right seat. I knew what to do (as evidenced by massive doses of body english) it's just my hands wouldn't go right.

One tiny trick is to keep your index finger extended along the throttle shaft to use as a gauge until your left hand is able to do fine adjustments.

 

[jmaynard]

Crosswinds messed me up the first few times in the right seat. I knew what to do (as evidenced by massive doses of body english) it's just my hands wouldn't go right.

That's it exactly. I'm so used to pulling with my right hand and moving the stick with my left that, on one approach, I pulled hard with my right hand - and ballooned, badly.

One tiny trick is to keep your index finger extended along the throttle shaft to use as a gauge until your left hand is able to do fine adjustments.

I should have thought of that. After all, I've got the standard push-pull throttle flat spot on my right index finger; why not on my left, too?

 

[CJones]

That's it exactly. I'm so used to pulling with my right hand and moving the stick with my left that, on one approach, I pulled hard with my right hand - and ballooned, badly.

Been there, done that.

All it takes is practice. You'll get there. After an hour or so, I was doing ALL sorts of stalls from the right seat. One thing I learned, for the RV at least, is to move your hand further down the stick to prevent over-controlling.

 

[SCCutler]

Crosswinds messed me up the first few times in the right seat. I knew what to do (as evidenced by massive doses of body english) it's just my hands wouldn't go right.

You make me chuckle, sir; I thought I was the only one who caught himself trying to make the airplane do things by contorting my body instead of applying the appropriate control inputs in appropriate measure.

 

[dmccormack]

You make me chuckle, sir; I thought I was the only one who caught himself trying to make the airplane do things by contorting my body instead of applying the appropriate control inputs in appropriate measure.

I've had to correct a student on that a few times. "Why are you moving your head when you should be moving the wings to counter drift?"

 

[gprellwitz]

You make me chuckle, sir; I thought I was the only one who caught himself trying to make the airplane do things by contorting my body instead of applying the appropriate control inputs in appropriate measure.

I think it's been passed down from the Wright brothers. Only it worked for them!

 

[Greg Bockelman]

I think it's been passed down from the Wright brothers. Only it worked for them!

LOL

However, it WAS pretty much a crappy design.