Well done, William!

[Garry Russell]

I thought helicopters were opposite to fix wing with the "Captain" in the RH seat??

[DaveB]

Y E S..

El Capitano.. RH seat in helicopters regardless of if he's the PIC or not.. as far as I was aware. Fixed wing.. El Capitano LH seat regardless of if he's PIC or not.. as far as I was aware

ATB

DaveB

[airboatr]

For those that may wonder why this is:
The "PIC" sits in the right seat due to the unbalanced lift caused by the advancing rotor blade as it moves forward in the airstream. Also since the collective is in between the seats it allows the PIC to use his right hand for the cyclic. Thats what RW bell pilot told me during a DoDo Sim multi-fly

However some helos have CR rotation so would they still sit on right..? Is the SEA King CCR or CR?

[GHD]

Oops, my bad

[Tonks]

Different fleets do different things re captaincy and many swap seats from trip to trip. So, just because traditionally the capt sits on the right in a helo doesn't mean that the pilots can't swap seats and the capt sit on the left to give the co the right hand seat (RHS) experience. On the C-17 the capt and co can fly from either seat, as we used to on the Nimrod. On the VC10 you generally have to be an instructor to be a RHS capt, same for the Tristar... as I said, each fleet is different.

Tonks

[Chris Trott]

Russian helicopters typically have the LH seat as the "Pilot" seat (I find it easier to talk Pilot and Co-Pilot when with this kind of discussion for clarity). The Mi-2 is an extreme case of this where the RH seat is actually situated back away from the panel in such a position that an instructor or Co-Pilot flight in the right seat actually has a fairly uncomfortable and obstructed position to fly from when they have the stick unfolded and in use. More typically, that seat is where the Flight Mechanic/Crew Chief rides.

This picture (from the Cold War Air Museum) shows the seat arrangement -

[DaveB]

Nice link Chris.. tks for that

ATB

DaveB

[DarrenL]

I'm surprised none of you remembered Treasure Hunt to highlight the fact the pilot sits on the right. Anneka can't fly herself

[Paul K]

I'm surprised none of you remembered Treasure Hunt to highlight the fact the pilot sits on the right. Anneka can't fly herself

To be honest, I was always more interested in what the cameraman was filming as he ran behind her.

[GHD]

When I took a familiarisation flight in an R-22, the instructor sat in the left seat. Does that mean I was technically in command?