Where should the Throttle go?

[Scott Todd]

Is Throttle on the Left right? Here is my philosophy. I love discussing this with other pilots and maybe will generate some controversial opinions here :)

Where do you like the throttle? Fighter style on the left or trainer style in the middle or right hand? Somewhere in a Sonex video Jeremy or John make a comment about the throttle on the left side of the Onex, ‘like a fighter’. Well that’s true, but is it really the best place? Left handed pilots are lucky. I’m jealous. But this article isn’t really for them. Sorry ☹. But if you want a fun read and to laugh at the majority of us Righties with identity issues, read on.

I’ve been flying for over 30 years. I have around 2000 hours. I’ve flown 30 different Make/Model airplanes and test flown over a dozen new or newly restored airplanes. I currently have three airplanes. A Kitfox, a single seat Biplane, and a Onex. I fly each of them with the throttle in my right hand. Of course you will always hear seasoned pilots say something like “it doesn’t matter to me” or “ I like the stick in my right because I’m right handed”. Lets take a closer look at some aviation history.

In the early days of aviation, pilots were mostly right handed so airplanes were built with the flying control in their dominant hand. This makes sense. Airplanes were much simpler and all they had to do was fly the airplane. The oldest thing I’ve flown is a 1936 Taylor J-2, with the throttle on the left. As the War years came along, airplanes were built with the throttle on the left. The airplanes were faster, heavier, and required the strength and dexterity of the dominant hand in combat. They started to get more complicated with radios and other onboard systems but the tradition stuck. I’ve only flown one military fighter (Iskra TS-11) but I’ve flown lots of Cubs, Super Cubs, Champs, Pitts, Citabrias, Ultralights, RV’s, Sonex’s, Onex’s and more, with the throttle on the left. I never really thought about it while flying and certainly didn't have any issues or problems.

Today, modern airplanes are easier to fly and more predictable. We also spend a lot more time and effort ‘managing’ than those early days of aviation. I think flying with your weak hand and using your dominant hand to mange the airplane is a better choice. I suspect more pilots would secretly prefer it this way but there seems to be this odd stigma attached to it.

Lets jump ahead to modern times. Most of us have spent thousands of hours in the cockpit with the primary control in our left hand. We use our right, or commonly dominant hand, to adjust the radio, tweak the heater, get a drink, take a selfie, answer the phone, adjust our speed, etc. All while speeding along with oncoming traffic literally inches away from us, at deadly speeds, in total confidence. Of course I’m talking about driving. Sorry lefties. I realize it’s a different argument for you. But lets continue. Most of us learned to fly in Cessna’s and Pipers with a Yoke or Wheel in our left hand. This came from larger airplanes like war Bombers where the Yoke helped with leverage and the throttles were in the middle for access by both pilots. Also Civilian airplane designers wanted flying to be more like driving so it was a logical selection. (Our British friends are another story) Yeah, we occasionally see airplanes with dual throttles but lets not go there for now. So for most of us, learning to fly resembled driving; Steer with the left, fiddle with the right. This works well because we use our fine motor skills for all the fiddling and kind of our gross motor skills for the ‘driving’ or flying. Look at a typical cockpit video configured with a stick or yoke in the left hand and throttle on the right like a modern Cessna or Piper. It’s easy to see the entire arm moving gently to fly the airplane, similar to driving. Then you see the throttle hand using those fine motor skills to do all the twiddling. You won’t find any videos focused on the stick movements but you’ll find tons focused on the other hand setting up the approach, fiddling with the map, tweaking the EFIS, etc. You get it…Seems like a match made in heaven.

But then there are the Fighter Jock wannabe’s that ‘need’ that stick in their dominant (right) hand. Lets use a recent video example (no offense intended). Scott Meyer put up a very nice video of him flying his Red Tail Sonex into Port Clinton. BTW, thanks for the homage to those brave Tuskegee Airman that don’t get the credit they deserve. He’s flying his Sonex with the throttle on the left side of the cockpit. While approaching his destination, in the first 4 minutes of the video, it appears he adjusts the radio, writes on a kneeboard, changes frequencies, stows his pen, adjust the throttle, adjusts the mixture, turns on exterior lighting, adjusts the EFIS, zooms on the electronic map, scratches his nose, and adjusts his microphone. Some of these actions are done several times each. He switches his grip 11 times in this 4 minutes. He also later grabs his phone for a couple photos, adjusts the flaps, and uses the hand brake with several more grip switches. None of this is bad. He does a fine job flying, navigating, and communicating his way thru the pattern and approach to a picture perfect landing. He manages his aircraft well, albeit with a TON of hand switching.

I know…You want to go dogfight your buddy and do some aerobatics so you ‘need’ that stick in your dominant hand even though you have thousands of hours of practice doing it the other way. But for how long do you ‘need’ this? Those dogfights or aerobatics usually take 5 minutes or so per flight and you move on. The rest of the time you are doing all that fiddling including getting a drink of water while catching your breath. Face it, most of us are not the young athletes we once were. You soon head back to the airport or arrive at your destination. You start the same rituals that Scott did in his video. Again, there is nothing wrong with any of this. Just get ready for the switch-grip marathon.

So what if we put the throttle on our Sonex in the middle (trainer configuration) or our Onex on the right? Obviously the Sonex case is better for letting your friend fly. But who brings friends anyways? Sonex says we mostly fly alone. If you have the throttle on the right, you get to fly like you've been driving for most of your life. You get to fly like you learned to fly. You get to fly like you do on the occasion you take a Certified whatever is out. You get to do all that fiddling with your dominant hand from startup to shut down, and never take your flying hand off the stick. You get to let your friend try it. Seems like a match made in heaven.

[Bryan Cotton]

I learned to fly in a PA12, which had the throttle where god intended, on the left. My Waiex has center throttle, so I can fly left seat if I want to mess with a kneeboard or the radio, and right seat for acro. Like a C140, both pilots can fly the airplane as they have the full complement of controls.

[mike.smith]

I've regularly flown Sonexes with the throttle on the left and in the center, and fly them from both seats. There really is no reason to make a decision based on dominant hand. You get used to either one in a few minutes, or maybe a couple of flights at most. So I would say, don't over think it. I prefer the throttle on the left and the control stick in my right hand, so that's what I built. But I've flown aerobatics and long cross countries in a Sonex with the throttle on the right and the stick in my left hand. I'm right handed, and either way works.

[GraemeSmith]

It doesn't matter TO ME. I'm a lefty with a dominant right eye (so I shoot right hand). I swap seats (car or plane) without thinking about it much (like Mike says). Even cars with sticks - it just "works". Even out solo - I will often fly right seat so I can stay in practice for letting someone try left seat.

The ONLY real issue I can think of is when letting someone fly from the right seat and reaching across you to get to a throttle on the left side. Then it's more about comfort both physical and personal at that point. It's harder for the CFI to chop the power on you unexpectedly when the throttle is on the left.

A better discussion (IMHO) would be about flap handle placement. If you fly right seat - it's quite hard (though not impossible) to pull the handle located on the left - from the right side. How about flap handle in the center? Would also get rid of the differential twist in the torque tube that means they deploy slightly differently.....

[Bryan Cotton]

In a Cessna I fly equally badly from either seat. I'm sure it will be the same in my Waiex.

My flaps and brakes are also in the center.

[Direct C51]

I’m not sure I get your humor, or you are trying too hard to justify where you put the throttle. Making assumptions about why builders put the the throttle on the left like that is pretty insulting.

The Sonex isn’t a Cessna. You don’t fly it with your gross motor skills. If you do, then I feel sorry for your landing gear and the beating it probably takes. All that fiddling you mention is happening in cruise where there is no need for precise control. It just doesn’t matter. But while landing where precise control is necessary, many like their dominant hand on the stick. Perhaps there are other reasons builders choose to do it, rather than “pretending to be fighter jocks”, as you like to accuse.

I say, build your plane however you want to build it, regardless of the ridicule you might take from any clowns who think they are better than you because they fly with their other hand.

[iancshippee]

I grew up in my father’s 150, and did all of my flight training in 152’s and 172’s. I was completely used to flying with a yoke and center throttle. However, when is started tailwheel training in a J-3 cub, I was blown away; the stick and throttle placement was so intuitive and comfortable. No more left elbow clumsiness during left turns, entering and exiting a slip became a graceful maneuver instead of wobbly and unsettling, and I feel that all of my flying became smoother and more natural. That had me sold on the stick/left throttle setup for sure, but more recently it’s become more important since I had a home improvement accident and nearly cut off half my left thumb. Now fingers and palm on the left feel just fine on a throttle quadrant but left hand on a yoke feels awkward. Still completely manageable, but nowhere near as comfortable as stick and left throttle.I may go dual quadrant on my Sonex when that time comes, but that part of the build is still a ways off.

[GraemeSmith]

I had a home improvement accident

I will attest to that! When we were looking at the plane at KSFZ.

Just dont have any "plane construction accidents" or you might not be able to fly!! :-)

[iancshippee]

Thanks Graeme, I hope so too! It’s healed enough that I was able to throw a building table together, first step will be getting the ribs back on the spars. Hopefully starting this weekend!

[sonex1566]

Hi guys,
Number one, please don't burst my imagination bubble. I built my Sonex with dual sticks and a left hand throttle and mixture quadrant deliberately so that I could 'live the dream' of being a very poor fighter pilot. I even put a warning sticker on the quadrant about not using the 'over boost' for greater than 5 mins. That sticker alone is worth an extra knot of airspeed. Also the other problem is that I live in Australia, we are one of the very few countries that drive on the correct side of the road, I'm sorry but the rest of the world is wrong!

But all BS aside, other than standing in a pub where all the best discussions take place.....I own 2 Bobcat skidsteer loaders plus a Dingo skidsteer plus two excavators and a backhoe. Of all the most bizarre things is that the primary controls for the variety of machines I own are completely different. The large skid steer, you drive with your left hand and operate the arm and bucket with your right. The small one you use your arms like you would steer a Tank and operate the arms and bucket with your feet. The controls on a excavator are crossed with those on a back hoe. If you want to give yourself a headache try getting from one that you've got several thousand hours on and then jump in the other. What I have learned, is that it seems to take about 20 hours on average to reprogram your brain. After that it really doesn't matter, no one system is really any better, just different. The funny thing is the 20 hour bit, fly a plane, drive a truck, operate any form of oddball machine....they all seem to take the average person about 20 hours to become competent enough to operate. (expert requires significantly more time!)