# helicopter seating **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 26, 2006, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helicopter-seating/358354 "2006-05-26T19:04:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![solkoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@solkoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solkoe)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helicopter-seating/358354/1 "2006-05-26T19:04:25Z")
Is there some practical reason that helicoper pilots sit on the right instead of the left? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helicopter-seating/358354/2 "2006-05-26T19:31:33Z")
With normal engine rotation and the helicopter moving forward, the advancing blades are on the right side, and the retreating ones on the left. Since the advancing blades have a higher airspeed than the retreating ones, by a margin of 2x the aircraft’s overall airspeed, they would produce higher lift for a given angle of attack, tending to flip the helicopter on its side. There is a mechanism in the rotor head that reduces the angle of attack on the retreating side to balance the lift, but it helps to put the pilot’s weight on the high-lift side instead of the low-lift side. It doesn’t matter as much as the helicopter gets larger and heavier, but it made a big difference to the early, lightweight ones that set the standards. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helicopter-seating/358354/3 "2006-05-26T19:31:46Z")
Oops - the swashplate mechanism reduces angle of attack on the _advancing_ side, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helicopter-seating/358354/4 "2006-05-26T19:34:19Z")
The collective is on the left. this puts it by the center console. If the pilot were on the left he would have to crawl over it to get in. In aircraft with two sets of controls the main collective is the one with the starter switch. It is next to the right seat so you don’t have to crawl over it. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helicopter-seating/358354/5 "2006-05-26T19:35:33Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > With normal engine rotation and the helicopter moving forward, the advancing blades are on the right side, and the retreating ones on the left. Since the advancing blades have a higher airspeed than the retreating ones, by a margin of 2x the aircraft’s overall airspeed, they would produce higher lift for a given angle of attack, tending to flip the helicopter on its side. There is a mechanism in the rotor head that reduces the angle of attack on the retreating side to balance the lift, but it helps to put the pilot’s weight on the high-lift side instead of the low-lift side. It doesn’t matter as much as the helicopter gets larger and heavier, but it made a big difference to the early, lightweight ones that set the standards. And that has to do with the pilot’s seat how? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helicopter-seating/358354/6 "2006-05-26T19:44:11Z")
The key passage: “it helps to put the pilot’s weight on the high-lift side”. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helicopter-seating/358354/7 "2006-05-26T19:51:17Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > The key passage: “it helps to put the pilot’s weight on the high-lift side”. In any helicopter I have been in the pilot’s weight being 3 feet to the left would do absolutely nothing. ---
**Author:** ![bkoochin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f04885/32.png) [@bkoochin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bkoochin)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helicopter-seating/358354/8 "2006-05-26T19:58:52Z")
Loach, did you even read the guy’s post? _It doesn’t matter as much as the helicopter gets larger and heavier, but it made a big difference to the early, lightweight ones that set the standards._ ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helicopter-seating/358354/9 "2006-05-26T20:05:37Z")
Yes but apparently my brain isn’t processing English today. Which is a shame because I don’t know any other language. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helicopter-seating/358354/10 "2006-05-26T20:15:38Z")
Though on further review the answer may be [wrong.](http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/helicopters/q0072.shtml) As that article goes: \* On the single seat VS-300, which made its debut on 8 December 1941, the collective control was fitted on the left side of the seat (for reasons unknown to me). The next year brought the introduction of the XR-4 helicopter, which was designed to the flown from the left seat (again for reasons I’m not sure of…it is possible that Mr. Sikorsky was trying to follow the convention of fixed wing aircraft).\* Some of the earliest aircraft had the seat on the left side. My cite basically answers the question with a big I dunno so I won’t take that as the answer either. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helicopter-seating/358354/11 "2006-05-26T20:46:34Z")
I found one cite to go with **ElvisL1ves** answer. [Helis.com](http://www.helis.com/faq/faq031.php) basically gives the same answer. It sounds plausible but I don’t know what the definitive answer is. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helicopter-seating/358354/12 "2006-05-26T22:06:43Z")
A helicopter can be designed such that the pilot may sit on either the left side or the right side. But smaller helicopters, by design, are built so that the pilot traditionally flies from the right seat for single-pilot operation. (For example, the Robinson R-22 is placarded for single-pilot right-seat operation only.) However a small helicopter with both seats occupied may be flown from either seat as far as weight-and-balance goes. The Enstrom is flown from the left seat when a third person is carried on a cushion between the two proper seats. (The right collective is removed.) So small helicopters are designed such that the weight-and-balance requirements dictate that single-pilot operations be flown from the right seat. But why? My unresearched theory is this: All helicopters are inherently unstable, and small ones doubly so. You really shouldn’t let go of the cyclic. (Cyclic friction may allow the pilot to release the cyclic briefly, and autopilot in larger helicopters allow the pilot to let go.) The pilot does not need his hand constantly on the collective. The cyclic is used in the right hand. By positioning the pilot on the right, the console is handy to the left hand for tuning the radio or transponder, adjusting the instruments, adding carb heat, etc. I could be wrong, but that’s the way I figured it. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helicopter-seating/358354/13 "2006-05-26T22:09:44Z")
Of course, I could have just read **Loach** ’s link. > [@](#): > > Other reason that the pilot position is on the right is because the pilot needs his right hand to fly the A/C. Since the collective doesnt need the attention that the cyclic needs its only natural to put the pilot on the right hand side, thus leaving the left hand to tune radios and perform other tasks. ---
**Author:** ![solkoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@solkoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solkoe)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helicopter-seating/358354/14 "2006-05-26T22:56:07Z")
What is the collective? ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helicopter-seating/358354/15 "2006-05-26T23:59:28Z")
> [@solkoe](#): > > What is the collective? The cyclic controls the pitch of the helicopter. The pedals controls the yaw (nose left, tail right) The collective controls, basically, raising the helicopter up and down vertically. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helicopter-seating/358354/16 "2006-05-27T02:34:54Z")
> [@RandMcnally](#): > > The cyclic controls the pitch of the helicopter. > The pedals controls the yaw (nose left, tail right) > The collective controls, basically, raising the helicopter up and down vertically. Yep. For someone who has never been in a helicopter, the cyclic is the stick between the pilot’s legs. The collective is the stick that is to the left side of the pilot. It only goes up and down. It increases and decreases torque. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helicopter-seating/358354/17 "2006-05-27T03:53:10Z")
The collective changes the pitch of the rotor blades collectively. That is, the swashplate moves up and down and changes the pitch the same amount for both blades. It is, as has been said, to the left of the pilot. The cyclic changes the pitch of the blades different amounts. This causes the rotor disc to tilt in whatever direction the cyclic is pointed. Because of gyroscopic precession, changes in pitch manifest themselves 90º later in the direction of rotation. Fortunately helicopter control assemblies are designed so that the pilot doesn’t have to think about that. 😉 The throttle twist-grip control (like on a motorcycle) is at the end of the collective. Raising the collective increases drag, so the throttle must be correlated with it. There is a correlation device that does this, but it’s rather coarse (on the helicopters I fly) so the pilot must fine-adjust the throttle manually. The pedals are there to counteract torque. They also control yaw by providing more or less conteraction to torque. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helicopter-seating/358354/18 "2006-05-27T03:56:57Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > For someone who has never been in a helicopter, the cyclic is the stick between the pilot’s legs. Usually. The Robinsons have a T-bar. The cyclic is mounted amidships forward of the right-seat collective. A horizontal (more or less) bar extends to either side (the left – passenger – side is removable) that has vertical handgrips on the ends. The pilot’s handgrip is in the same position as the handgrip on a traditional arrangement, but the broad-Y arrangement of the horizontal bar moves the other grip comfortably out of the way of the passenger. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helicopter-seating/358354/19 "2006-05-27T04:18:06Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > Usually. > > The Robinsons have a T-bar. The cyclic is mounted amidships forward of the right-seat collective. A horizontal (more or less) bar extends to either side (the left – passenger – side is removable) that has vertical handgrips on the ends. The pilot’s handgrip is in the same position as the handgrip on a traditional arrangement, but the broad-Y arrangement of the horizontal bar moves the other grip comfortably out of the way of the passenger. I am aware of the Robinson’s, they scare the hell out of me. I have only ever flown in US military helicopters. I wouldn’t be caught dead in one of those tinker toys. But thats just me. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helicopter-seating/358354/20 "2006-05-27T04:26:04Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I am aware of the Robinson’s, they scare the hell out of me. I have only ever flown in US military helicopters. I wouldn’t be caught dead in one of those tinker toys. But thats just me. Heh. I was at MCAS El Toro once, chatting with a CH-53 pilot. He shared your sentiments. ‘You fly an R-22? Those things scare the hell out of me! They’re so squirrely!’ A friend of his, who flew a Sea Cobra, said, ‘You fly an R-22? Those things are great! Very nimble!’ So if you fly a big ship, Robbos are ‘squirrely’. If you fly an attack helicopter, then they’re ‘nimble’. 😃 I’ve only flown the R-22 and the 300CB (which you may know as the TH-55). Personally I love the way the R-22 flies. Very nimble. There’s a saying: ‘If you can fly an R-22, you can fly _anything_.’ When I got into the Schweizer, the instructor I went up with said, ‘You learned on a Robinson, didn’t you?’ I told him I did, and he said he could tell because I was right on it. Of course, I would fly whatever it is you fly any day. You lucky bastard! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helicopter-seating/358354.md?page=2)