Help with the right seat transition

Jayrock

Jayrock

Well-Known Member
Hey everyone,

I've gone up three times now in the right seat and it just seems so foreign to me. I was just wondering if anyone else has gone through this and if so, what did you do to build up your comfort level. Arrgghh, I don't want to spend a million and one hours relearning how to fly! Oh and the times I've gone up, they've been with an instructor. I'm guessing I just need to take it up solo and work at it on my own. Any tips, tricks, ideas, advice, concerns would be greatly apprecitated.
 
What are you having problems with? I remember I had trouble mostly with side loading the landings but the manuevers weren't that bad. On landings try keeping the nose of the plane alittle to the left of what you think its straight; the centerline should be centered right between your legs. Just taxi around and see how the nose looks relative to the centerline to eliminate side loading. After about 10 hours you should be fine. Oh yeah, enjoy these last couple hours of getting to fly b/c once you get that CFI you can say bye bye to actually controlling the plane on a regular basis. Hope this helps
 
Thanks for the update. Yes, it's the landings that are challening; I tend to side load them a little. They remind me of some of my first landings as a student pilot! Anywho, I think your right, I just need to go and spend some time on it.
 
Flighing right seat is the first test for a CFI candidate - can you teach yourself how to do it?

Check out my "How Come I Always Land Left of Centerline with the Airplane Crooked?" FAQ at http://www.midlifeflight.com/faq/faq.php?s=3#10 .

It's really designed for student pilots but it's just as applicable to your transition - it even mentions CFI cnadidates landing right of centerline.
 
Here's how I get people to be able to get lined up with the center line on landings.

First, our goal is to land on the center line. Straddle it. Get the line between your legs and keep your left foot on the left side of the line and your right foot on the right side of the centerline. That's also how you should start out a student taxiing - so it becomes an automatic response.

Now, when you start to rotate, for take-off, or flare into a good landing attitude, your nose will cover up this center line. So how can you keep it lined up when you can't see it?

Eventually, you will learn to estimate the center by seeing the runway edges in your peripheral vision, but this takes lots and lots of practice.

But...
You can get a better picture of keeping the nose aligned with the runway, if you start taking off and landing with the centerline just out to your right side - the same side you are sitting on. Start your primary students off by having them line up on the right side of the centerline so they can see the line out their left side.

On final, stay lined up with the center of the left half of the runway so that when you flare and bring the nose up, you can still see the cener line just outside under the right wing. You will be better able to make rudder corrections for centerline alignment.

Once you learn to land with no sideload (not crooked), start lining it up over the center line.
 
The thing that worked for me was lining up the center line on my left leg and using that as my guide to keep it strait. fly the rest of the approch as you would do if in the left seat.
 
I would not go out solo and practice landing from the right side. I feel your pain because it took me a few hours as well to be able to land from that side. Save some money, and possibly your life) by taking a fellow pilot that would love to go with you for free instead of the instructor.

The way I ended up landing from the right side, is landing right wing low everytime. I don't know why this helped me, but it did. Then one day there was a stiff wind from the left and I had to kick that habit in a hurry! Good luck, and just with new student pilot's, you will see the picture and it will just click soon enough!
 
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