We don't wanna die!

[facthunter]

I think it relates to the standard circuit direction being left hand. British direct drive engines are normally anticlockwise viewed from the cockpit so a torque reaction cancel would be to sit left seat, in basic trainers. When testing an aircraft one time, I did fly it from either side to check if some rigging error was affected. There is a change but it isn't of a high order. easily corrected by a minor change to an aileron fixed tab. Larger aircraft it would be less of an effect.

 

Commercial jet cockpits are fairly limited vision, when you are on the wrong side also. I personally don't much care which side I fly from. In many planes you can't see much of the instrument presentation from the RHS, but it's surprising how little you need. Nev

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

"Metric" has helped them crash into mars....http://mars.nasa.gov/msp98/news/mco990930.html

would have, but it burnt up

 

 

[Bruce Tuncks]

It sure matters which side you sit in a Jabiru with a single central stick. The right-hand seat needs to fly left hand, or else reach across.

 

I find it quite hard to fly in either of those two ways. I guess the instructors get used to it.

 

As for the USA and metric, they use metric for electrical things including the systems used on their spacecraft. Watts, Amps etc are all metric.

 

Personally, I just love the space stuff they do and reckon we should do more to help.

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

....Personally, I just love the space stuff they do and reckon we should do more to help.

Agreed Bruce. Australia was a pioneer in the Space Age, but we lost interest. We still have a few tracking stations and the odd balloon is launched here. While clever countries got involved in the International Space Station, we built sporting arenas and gave tax cuts to the well-off. We could have developed our own launching industry lofting satellites into orbit; instead we pay other countries to do it for us.

 

 

[kasper]

Perhaps airplanes (prop types requiring right rudder to counteract prop torque) would benefit from the pilot's weight being on the right side rather than the left, much clipped.

Clearly never flown aircraft with two strokes turning the opposite direction to 4 strokes ... or belt drive vs gear drive.

Torque effect (not just prop torque but the slipstream circulation and impact on rudder required) is not going to be sorted by sitting a pilot left or right ... its related to power setting, speed and even changes in pitch ... and take a low time pilot trained on a 912 powered aircraft and sit them in the same design with a 582 and just watch how squirrelly they can be if they have not appreciated the actual causes that they are 'enjoying' the effects of.

 

 

[facthunter]

Engine torque effect is of a low order. The sort of problem needing large control inputs is with High powered motors with large prop blades at aircraft high angle of attack and high power. Ie slow speed. Descending blade has different thrust to ascending blade, and it behaves like a twin with an engine out. Nev

 

 

[kasper]

Engine torque effect is of a low order. The sort of problem needing large control inputs is with High powered motors with large prop blades at aircraft high angle of attack and high power. Ie slow speed. Descending blade has different thrust to ascending blade, and it behaves like a twin with an engine out. Nev

There is a whole heap to unwrap in this:

1.Prop wash - impact of rotating airstream on fuselage and tailgroup

 

2. Prop torque effect - newtons third law due to mass of propeller rotating

 

3. P-Factor - Asymmetric prop thrust due to angle of attack of prop disc to relative airflow

 

4. Gyroscopic preceession - the prop acting as a gyro as you change the angle of attack of prop disc to relative airflow - acts 90deg out of the plane of motion

 

All of these add up to what is experienced in the aircraft and all aircraft/engines/propeller/flight regime combination are different ... but putting the pilot in the left/right/middle or thinking it's always left/right rudder is not an answer to all the bits n pieces happening.

 

 

[facthunter]

Then you have crosswinds effect too. P factor still kills pilots of warbird type caught unawares in a go around situation, or such. Nev

 

 

[kasper]

Then you have crosswinds effect too. P factor still kills pilots of warbird type caught unawares in a go around situation, or such. Nev

Yep.

and if you have a T85 thruster with the short wings and a 503 then P factor is a kicker on take off ... and if you are slightly demented put an F30 80hp up there in place of the 503 and put an even bigger three bladed carbon prop up there do NOT try to go full throttle OR raise the tail quickly ... rudder just aint big enough ... but once in the air with sufficient airspeed to control it you can climb like an express elevator ;-)

 

 

[Marty_d]

It sure matters which side you sit in a Jabiru with a single central stick. The right-hand seat needs to fly left hand, or else reach across.

I think that might be the key. Yes I know the Yanks built a lot of planes with dual controls but there must have been a few designs early on with side by side seating and a single control column.

 

 

[facthunter]

Can't think of many examples. Not that I know all of them , but a single column (as distinct from a central throttle) wouldn't be as popular as perhaps it is today Perhaps "accepted" might be a better word.

 

Even big stuff requires you to change hands when you change seats. Nev

 

 

[Robbo]

Vegemite isn't my cup of tea

So can't offer you a vegemite pizza?

 

Doh, Kraft have stopped Pizza Hut from doing it.

 

http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/food/pizza-hut-launches-vegemite-and-cheeseinfused-mitey-stuffed-crust-for-australia-day/news-story/13941a7fcbe0a932aa6c81a1d32c80a3