Left or Right ?????

[airplanescotty]

When the aircraft is airborne the only higher authority to the Pilot or “Pilot In Command” (PIC) is God!!!
ATC recognizes this as does FAA!

The fun part is,,,, FAA and ATC will give the Pilot whatever he/she wants,,, immediately and without question! However later and after further examination if the Pilot made a poor decision , punishment may be administered The Sky has cops too

During the flight the Pilot may relinquish or re-gain control of the aircraft to & from the Co-Pilot. The Pilot’s directive is,,,,,,
You have the airplane,,, I have the airplane!!! Followed by Co-Pilot acknowledgement!

For Fixed wing aircraft and regardless of the number of passengers,,,, The Pilot or PIC sits in the front LEFT seat of the aircraft,,,
Orientation ~ seated and facing forward!

In Aviation vernacular, simply,,, “The Left Seat“

Thus, regardless of orientation of the viewer,, the left side of the airplane is only the Pilot side of the aircraft.

With Rotary Wing aircraft the Pilot or PIC typically sits in the "Right Seat"!

History:
Fixed Wing: After World War I, most airplanes had rotary engines with left turning tendencies because it followed the torque of the engine. Therefore, turning left was easier than turning right. Because of this, pilots considered left turns as more convenient maneuver, and thus more experienced pilot started sitting on the left. Hence our counter clockwise flight??

Rotary Wing: When Igor Sikorsky built the world’s first mass-produced helicopter, the R-4 weight was a serious issue. “The R-4 was intended as a trainer, but was so underpowered that Sikorsky was looking for any potential savings, so Igor and his engineers decided to let the instructor and student share a single collective. The only place to put it then was in the middle between the two seats. Given the coordination and strength required to manipulate an R-4 cyclic for any length of time, the student always flew from the right seat. “Thus, the first generation of U.S. Army Air Forces, Coast Guard, and Navy pilots, along with those from Britain and its Commonwealth who learned on the R-4, and its follow-on, the R-6 (also with a single collective), flew exclusively from the right seat.”!

Scotty

[Dave Yost]

While most airplanes that are designed to be flown single pilot have cockpits that are set up to be flown from the left seat(Helicopters/Right Seat), from a regulatory stand point, the PIC is the designated at the beginning of the flight, regardless of witch seat he/she occupies.

Example: Student Pilot getting Dual Received from a CFI, The CFI in the right seat is the PIC as the Student is not yet rated and current in the category and class.

Example: PART 91/61, If an pilot with an ATP that usually flies for a major air carrier is SEL current, and jumps in Right with with a Private Pilot, and they bust a reg, in the eyes of the FAA, the ATP was the PIC regardless of the seat he was sitting in.

Under PART 135 or 121, the PIC will be designated on the Flight Log or Release prior to the flight. The operation that I currently fly for, the company policy is that the airplane is flown from the left seat. While I am typed and current in the jet, and I fly my legs from the left seat, I am not the PIC on the flight release. Most airlines, the co-pilot flies from the right seat...but some operations, the flying pilot flies from the left seat, but is not the PIC by regulation.

Cheers, Dave

[airplanescotty]

"Student Pilot getting Dual Received from a CFI" ~ Certified Flight Instructor. Also,, the CFI is responsible for all FAA "Pilot" requirements, ensuring aircraft is Air worthy, following all the rules ~ tons of those , current medical, while the student is responsible for showing up prepared,, on time, and with $$$

Just in case anyone interested,,
A Part 91 operator is only permitted to provide flights for non-commercial purposes, and works under regulations defined by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for non-commercial operations.

Part 121 deals with commercial air service, flights that are scheduled, and have paying passengers, i.e. customers. These flights follow a pre-defined route. ...

Part 135 regulates the on-demand flights and scheduled charter flights. Scheduled charter flights are usually limited to a few days a week.

I always thought flying would be fun!!! However,,,, With all the rules,, regulations, responsibilities, variables, and danger,, I found flying to be rewarding!!!!

That said,,,, my wife gave me Air Combat USA for my 50th birthday ~ real live Air Combat!!! Had a little Air Combat Maneuvering (ACM) training, got into a Top Gun flight jump suit, Flew a Marquete, single engine very maneuverable X-Navy Jock CFI next to me,,, out over the Pacific, half way to Catalina Isl,, SoCAl, We Flew head-on towards each other at about 7,000 feet,,,,, As we passed,,, roll left aileron to 90 degrees,,, a Pylon turn,,, pulled hard up elevator,, went vertical trying to got behind the guy Before He did, once ya get behind your target that is all you care about,, getting the target in those cross hairs!! When ya do,, Ya shot his ass!!!! Flew 7 flights, only lost the first,,,,

The last Fight, I was behind him, in a descending right turn,, but outside the "Guns" window, so we did a Hi-Lo-YoYo!!Now Remember my CFI is X-Navy. Decending Right Turn,, Following his commands I turned left and leveled,,, As the target disappeared under my right wing tip I went full vertical for a 15-20 seconds, then rolled Right Aileron 90 degrees, now the target is directly behind and moving away from me,,, so Full Up elevator, go over the top part of a loop,, now we descending down the back side of the Loop, aileron roll to level flight, the target is directly in front of me, pulled the trigger,,, Shot his Ass!!! When we got back to the airport in San Perdo, Ca, we all
had full Barf Bags

Now that was fun!!!

XXOO

Scotty

[mikecondon]

Very nice reading!!..I enjoyed it.thanks

[Dave Yost]

Well Mike, since you enjoyed that so much, why don’t we drill down in the AMA Pylon Racing Rule book and see where it says that the CD can change the race format for the NATS?

Thanks. Dave

(Just kidding!)