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Some things are simply better, more easily done by one hand than the
other: bowling, batting, throwing, shooting, fencing, playing the
violin, writing, combing your hair, cutting a steak, cutting with
scissors, brushing your teeth or wiping your behind. There are some
things you simply do better with one hand than the other. Most of us
can learn to do some of these things passably well with either hand,
but that doesn't mean that we do them AS well.
I suspect that we all fly at least a little bit better with the
dominant hand. But the difference probably isn't enough to matter --
most of the time. I'd guess that in most IFR flying the difference
isn't critical, as what you do with your head is probably enormously
more important than what you do with your hands. For things like
difficult landings I think the difference might just matter.
Thanks everyone. You've helped me clarify what I want. Seems to me
that the approach that would work best for me is a conventional setup
(solo from left seat), an ambidextrous stick and a second throttle
for my left hand. That way I can fly with either hand. And I won't
have to try to copy clearances with my left hand. :-)
This should even be fairly easy to implement. Don't need duplicate
prop controls or even a duplicate friction lock on the throttle. And
if a future buyer doesn't like it, he can simply remove the second
throttle and plug the hole(s). Assuming I rig this so it can't jam
the throttle closed, does anybody see a problem with this?
Could I live without a left-hand throttle? Oh sure. Still, one must
wonder: could having the stick in the dominant hand at the moment of
truth (bounced landing, vortex flipping you inverted close to the
ground, etc) ever make a difference in outcome? It's surprising that
no one has investigated this question. I'd be surprised if there
turned out to be no difference.
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Paul Davis
Lancair Legacy builder
pdavis@bmc.com
Phone 713-918-1550
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Gutta cavat lapidem
Dripping hollows out rock
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