David Rind wrote in message ...
running with scissors wrote:

As a question, why would you want to place a passenger in the left
seat? what purpose would it serve ?

There are regulations pertaining to this, and if you are indeed doing
your instructors rating you should have gained a reasonable knowledge
of the FAR's and furthermore have an understaning of CRM.

as we are all aware, many GA aircraft are equipped with "dual"
controls and instumentation, however, depending on the aircraft the
left seat is configured as the primary control station, with
reduced/limited access from the right seat, limited further if a body
is in that seat, limited even further if it is occupied by a non
pilot.

so again, what purpose would it serve to position a non pilot in the
left seat and place yourself in the right seat, why would you want to
limit access to full control of the aircraft.

you may be able to find a loophole in the FAR's, renters policy or
insurance requirements to allow you to do this "legally", though even
posing the question indicates a complete failure to understand CRM and
lack of professionalism. if i found one of my pilots acting in this
manner he would never be in one of my cockpits again forthwith.

You make it sound like some incredibly dangerous activity,
but CFI's fly from the right seat all the time and are expected
to be able to take over from that seat even if the student
has gotten the plane into a spin or is in an unusual attitude
in IMC. Why the terror about flying from the right?

Reasons you might want to sit on the right include allowing
the passenger to practice flying (not loggable toward a rating
if you're not a CFI, but that may not be important to you or
the passenger), and to practice for your CFI exam.

If you don't feel competent to fly from the right or feel like
there are important instruments or controls that you don't have
access to, then you shouldn't do it. But viewing it as a "loophole"
or "unprofessional" seems really over the top.

umm read it again there is no statement of "terror" at all.

the question i asked is what is the reason for placing a passenger in
the left seat. any CFI who placed a student with zero experience or
no ability in aircraft in a position of spin recovery or unusual
attitude in IMC would hardly be considered responsible.

the poster stated that it was a sightseeing trip and no mention of
instruction was made. besides, he also stated that he was not an
instructor.

corrct if a pilot does not feel comfortable in flying from the right
or has limited access from the right he shouldnt do it. which is what
i stated. many GA aircraft have the brakes located on the left only,
or instrumentation advantages from the left, or even fuel selectors on
the left wall. the question i asked was what would be the benefit and
why would a pilot be willing to fly an aircraft with a non flying
passenger in the left seat and potentially limit access to aircraft
controls. unless there is justifiable reasoning (and depending on the
aircraft type and equipment specification) it would be unprofessional
to do so.