Question for one of the short wing Piper guru's, why is the forward entry door on the right side I'm struggling to understand the reasoning ? I'm not faulting and they are most certainly wonderful airplane, just a curiosity.

Maybe it’s...taxi cab etiquette.. guy gets in first..then the lady...or...a bad joke...wonder how many times ATC has watched a shortwinger not make it to a tie down area....tumble out..turn about...to hide the wet spot...and pee? I’ve installed a left side seaplane door....so I don’t have to wait for...the passenger to diddle pork around...


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"Right side seaplane door"?

To the OP, isn't the legend the doors were on the right side to facilitate getting in the plane after hand propping, and Piper just kept it that way after gawd invented the electric starter?

I honestly don't know the story just curious but that one works I guess !!!

Yeah, well, that argument doesn’t work for the Bonanza......

MTV

I've heard the same reasoning for the original Pipers/Aeroncas having a rhs door for handpropping then it carried over in later design like the shortwing Pipers and eventually into the Cherokees. Makes sense to me, and it seems to be the standard for most planes with a single door per row to have the fwd seats accessed on the rhs - Bonanzas/Barons, Mooneys, Cherokee line, etc.

In particular, the rhs door on shortwings make the fuel valve and lines simple (though Maule improved on that with both side doors). On the tandem a/c with cub/champ lineage the throttle, flap, and trim placement are nicely in hand on the left without complications from a door (though this also has been worked around like in the Rans S7 and Legend Cubs).

I don't mind the lack of a lhs door on my Pacer, it's not hard to do the swing and slide maneuver to get in the pilot seat but sometimes it's a bother when I leave stuff like a camera, lunch, or my headset sitting on the right seat. It is a little difficult but doable to get in with the right seat removed. Because pax board after me, I need to be extra careful to check that their seatbelt straps are fully inside the plane once the door is closed - so I ask all pax to place the tails of their seatbelts in there lap where I can see them.

I like the idea of Trimmer's lhs seaplane door but I'm still not completely sure that I would value it more than all the work to install and increased weight. I would be really happy just to have the full lhs window swing up to the wing like on some Citabrias/Cubs rather than only the fwd small opening window that is stock on a Pacer.

On my dad's Pietenpol, he built a boarding step on the left not the right. His reasoning was from riding horses, and always mounting from the lhs. It works, but he didn't have as much stick time in other tandem a/c to develop a preference on boarding side. I do have to take extra care to avoid hitting the throttle with my foot when I'm climbing in. Regardless, that is a difficult plane to get in - takes some practice.

I've also heard that Ted Smith intentionally placed the door of the Aerostar on the lhs so that the pilot would be last to board and first to exit because of the close proximity to the prop arc. I see the safety benefit to that and it reminds me of another intersting point about the Pacer rhs door:

While the origin of the rhs door may be for handpropping on the tandem Pipers, it does create an interesting situation on the side by side Pipers. If the pilot has to handprop and a pax is present, the pax either has to be outside of the a/c or get out so that the pilot can climb back in first. My experience with this, was as a kid with my dad and a flat battery. I wasn't yet old enough to do the handpropping for him and he didn't want me in the running plane at the controls as such a young kid. The procedure was that I stood behind the struts but where I could reach the mixture knob if the plane started to move at all. Once propped, he would board as I remained behind the struts, then I could climb in. It works, but is something to keep in mind for safe handpropping when the propper is the pilot.

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Not sure where it started but I agree that it’s annoying.

I had to hand-prop once on a trip with my wife. She sat in the right seat and held the brakes. I started the engine from the outside, then we had to wait until there was enough juice to shut the engine down and she could get out so I could get in to restart the plane to fly home.

If/when I ever rebuild, it’ll have two seaplane doors when I’m done.

[quote="grayjayflyer"]"Right side seaplane door"?

Oops! Correction....Left side

Bit of a thread drift however since the observation has been raised in support of the door placement I'll talk to it.

I was taught to fully prep the airplane, prime etc for a hand prop and then turn the fuel valve OFF. Stand in front the lift strut not behind; on land or sea, and swing the prop as required. When it catches scramble back in and first order of business was turn the fuel back ON. The theory behind the fuel valve OFF was should it all go side way (re: runaway airplane) the small amount of fuel in the lines would facilitate the start but "limit" the run time.

With that said I see the practicality/functionality of the right side door and further more I've never had to "solo" hand spank an airplane, land or sea.

CORRECTED, thanks MTV

Mapleflt wrote:Bit of a thread drift however since the observation has been raised in support of the door placement I'll talk to it.

I was taught to fully prep the airplane, prime etc for a hand prop and then turn the fuel valve OFF. Stand behind the lift strut not in front; on land or sea, and swing the prop as required. When it catches scramble back in and first order of business was turn the fuel back ON. The theory behind the fuel valve OFF was should it all go side way (re: runaway airplane) the small amount of fuel in the lines would facilitate the start but "limit" the run time.

With that said I see the practicality/functionality of the right side door and further more I've never had to "solo" hand spank an airplane, land or sea.

Wow, let’s see a photo of yourself! If you can even TOUCH the prop from BEHIND the wing struts, you must be part orangutan! Either that or you’re flying a pretty odd plane.

MTV

YES, typo sorry I'll go back and correct the comments I'm a soaring 5'5"