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Left-handed HOTAS


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I never thought about that - its always passed me as something everyone does i.e. the rigth handed way and come to think of it usign a left handed stick (im right handed) seems to be illogical :P so I can understand now waht your doing

 

Yeah good luck with that Im sure many would appreciate it. If you can get a petition of people prepared to buy them you may even be able to persuade a local firm to a batch of one off mouldings you could distribute? thats assuming you don't enjoy the process of building them yourself which should be quite rewarding

 

 

Do left handed pilots (real life pilots) get forced to use right hand controls? or is there the option to convert the stick and throttle panels?

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Do left handed pilots (real life pilots) get forced to use right hand controls? or is there the option to convert the stick and throttle panels?

 

I don't know of any single-seater aeroplane that has the controls switched around, no. In any side-by-side two-seat aeroplane you'd have to learn to fly ambidextrously in any case, which suggests that once you have learnt to fly, history has proved the handedness to be less of a problem than you'd imagine.

 

 

Either way, if someone's making life easier for left-handed sim pilots then I'm all for it - I don't believe it to be a serious realism hit, and the CH stuff is renowned for it's accuracy in all other respects . . . . . so it's all good!

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I don't know of any single-seater aeroplane that has the controls switched around, no. In any side-by-side two-seat aeroplane you'd have to learn to fly ambidextrously in any case, which suggests that once you have learnt to fly, history has proved the handedness to be less of a problem than you'd imagine.

 

 

But generally side by side seated planes use a flight yoke which arent biased to either side (am i correct?) and a throttle would not be impossible to use with either hand

 

For me its the thought of using a joystick left handed that seems more difficult as i see my left hand tends to just relax off centre dragging the stick to the bottom right corner and pushing the stick to the left feels awkward. I guess you could train but I find it hard to imagine.

 

I might give it ago next time i fire up lomac just switch the hotas blocks round and ignor ethe right hand bias hand grips

 

 

 

Oh my other point was that side by side seat planes (ignoring some like the ea6b prowler) are mostly sedate in terms of flight i.e. you are not flying difficult combat manouvres e.g. dogfights where the slight disadvantage could cost your life/plane

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IIRC, the newer Airbuses (those with FBW controls) have a control stick offset to the side. I'd assume the co-pilot's controls would be a mirror image since the throttle quadrant is central between the two seats. So it's a bit of payback really...All the right handed Airbus captains had to learn to fly left handed.

 

 

Lefties of the World unite!!! (.......erm no. Not you Comrade Lenin!)

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But generally side by side seated planes use a flight yoke which arent biased to either side (am i correct?) and a throttle would not be impossible to use with either hand

 

For me its the thought of using a joystick left handed that seems more difficult as i see my left hand tends to just relax off centre dragging the stick to the bottom right corner and pushing the stick to the left feels awkward. I guess you could train but I find it hard to imagine.

 

A throttle can be used with either hand, but that could leave only your non-dominant hand on the control stick - be it yoke or otherwise.

 

Generally your co-ordination isn't as good with your non-dominant hand . . . . guess you just have to overcome that. Shrug.

Practice makes perfect - if you do it for a living, every day, then you can get used to it. If you're a sim pilot without that luxury . . . . .

 

 

Oh my other point was that side by side seat planes (ignoring some like the ea6b prowler) are mostly sedate in terms of flight i.e. you are not flying difficult combat manouvres e.g. dogfights where the slight disadvantage could cost your life/plane

 

Actually, I reckon the Prowler's generally pretty sedate . . . . . it Prowls around being electronicky and jamming stuff. Carrier landing and A2A refuelling are of course rather more challenging than what most general aviation pilots will have to handle, but then the pilot training and flying hours reflect that as well.

 

IMO, you can either fly smoothly with either hand, or you can't. If you can't, then you probably won't end up in a position where it'll be critical ;)

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You might as well get used to the right hand setup (if there is such a thing). Real world pilots have to adjust to the plane's cockpit layout.

 

 

Just in case the day comes that we've all dreamed of where the air force drafts in all us flight simmers to go and fly their planes becuase all the other pilots have been taken hostage and we have to go save them :P

 

Yeah when that day comes i'll be glad i trained right handed for sure

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Here's something to think about.

 

I fly a Cessna 172 sometimes. I don't have a pilots license or anything (it just cost too much and I'm pretty cheap :) ). A friend of mine owns the plane and he lets me fly it some. GA planes really are "left handed" if you think about it. You hold the yoke with your left hand (the "flight stick") while managing the throttle, radios, trim wheel, etc with your right because you're in the left seat. If you look at the photo of my left-handed rig, that's the way it is in the Cessna (as well as Cirrus and every other small craft). Granted, military craft truly are right-handed just like the CH gear is designed but let's be realistic, do you think an old 53 year old geiser like me is ever going to fly a real F-16? I don't think that day is going to come for me nor 99% of the rest of youse! [sorry, reality check] So, my "mod" is really not all that out of line with what you might truly experience if you started flying. Besides, it's just a game. The word "fun" has got to creep into the vocabulary here somewhere and personally I'd rather spend it with the flight stick in my left hand rather than my right since that's the hand I eat with! :)

 

BTW, be sure to check out the thread I started:

 

http://www.ch-hangar.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=3152

 

I'm getting ready to put some pictures of what I've done so far and plan to follow the whole process with pictures. So if you're interested in how I'm doing this, you can track it in pictures.

 

Left-handed regards,

-mark

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Abit AV8 MB, AMD Athlon 64 3200+, 1.5 GB DDR, GeForce 6600GT/256MB AGP,

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snomhf, thanks again for the detailed insight into your project.

from what i can tell they are looking superb.

 

interesting to hear some feedback from a ch rep, and sad to hear they are not keen on a left handed alternative to go into production.

will be most intersted to catch a glimpse of your finished " LOTAS ". :megalol:

(lefthanders own throttle and stick)

feel free to call it that if you like, i would be honoured.:smartass:, hehe.

 

seriously though, you have made a fantastic contribution to the left handed sim community and proven that it can be done, and done well, thankyou.

 

ps: i noticed in your sig, you have an abit Av8 m/b, AV8 = aviate :)

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LOTAS huh? I'll have to use that if the project ever gets that far.

 

I'm on my second "back to the drawing board" with the mould making. This time I'm having to spend money which is painful but maybe necessary.

 

Thanks for the encouragement.

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Abit AV8 MB, AMD Athlon 64 3200+, 1.5 GB DDR, GeForce 6600GT/256MB AGP,

CH Fighterstick/Pro Throttle/Pro Pedals/Throttle Quad/DT225 Trackball, TIR4

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  • 1 month later...

If you are a left hander, I'd appreciate your taking a little poll I put together. You can find it here:

 

http://www.ch-hangar.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=3326

 

Thanks

-mark

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Abit AV8 MB, AMD Athlon 64 3200+, 1.5 GB DDR, GeForce 6600GT/256MB AGP,

CH Fighterstick/Pro Throttle/Pro Pedals/Throttle Quad/DT225 Trackball, TIR4

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I have a Cougar for my simming and thus fly the plane with my right hand. The real deal though I fly with my left as the throttle quadrants are on the PIC right side. When I fly aircraft with sticks in the centre and throttles and pitch on the left I found that I have to conciously think about what I am doing with my right hand, especially during final approach. It's very weird!!!! :D

With the price of ammunition these days do not expect a warning shot.

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Hey hey! I'm being left-handed and I have no problem using stick with my right hand.

Only thing I cannot do accurately with my right hand is to write, draw or aim-throw, anything else is just as easy like with the left hand. I think if I'd exercise writing with my right hand more I could as well write with the right one.. hmm. In my elementary school times I was forced to write with right-hand for almost 3 years. That was really rude. I hated them for that.

I'd like to encourage everyone who's left handed to buy a standard HOTAS and just get used to it. You'll find holding stick in one hand.. or mouse (I know that some righthanded ppl even prefer having mouse in left hand) is as easy and precise like with other hand.

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:: Shaman aka [100☭] Shamansky

tail# 44 or 444

[sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] 100KIAP Regiment Early Warning & Control officer

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i am currently experimenting with flying RH, to me it just seems so foreign.

my eye hand co-ordination is at an all time low especially trying to land.

or pulling a 90' roll for example.

 

i think a big factor may be whether or not you started left or right?

for myself i have flown sims LH for over +10years and that is one hard nut to crack.

 

for now right it is.....

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i am currently experimenting with flying RH, to me it just seems so foreign.

my eye hand co-ordination is at an all time low especially trying to land.

or pulling a 90' roll for example.

 

i think a big factor may be whether or not you started left or right?

for myself i have flown sims LH for over +10years and that is one hard nut to crack.

 

for now right it is.....

Keep practicing! Don't give up. I also flown with left hand for pretty long time until I finaly switched to right hand. You'll develop accuracy that allows you to fly tight formations and aim A2G very very well - and suddenly flying with left hand will become akward :doh: It's amazing how well our brains can adapt, take advantage of that :)

51PVO Founding member (DEC2007-)

100KIAP Founding member (DEC2018-)

 

:: Shaman aka [100☭] Shamansky

tail# 44 or 444

[sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] 100KIAP Regiment Early Warning & Control officer

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still using my right for the stick, getting better i would have to say, still feels weird and lacking accuracy.

 

its definately a challenge:thumbup: (even the thumbs up is LH)

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I'm a leftie too, and flew [virtually] with my left hand with a CH Flightstick Pro until around '97 when I bought my first Saitek X36. The HOTAS setup was just too cool to resist, and so I re-learned fly as a rightie. It took a while, and felt completely uncontrollable, but ever since then, I can't fly as a leftie to save my life! I can't write, throw, anything else with my right hand, but for flying, it feels much more natural now.

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