@Peter wrote:
and although there’s PROB90 next to no interest in rotorcraft here I wonder:if you have an aviation related question or topic that has been bugging you
which (Russian émigré ?) joker designed the twist throttle on a chopper’s collective lever to operate in the opposite sense to that of a motorbike? 
Flying solo from the left seat (as some helicopters require) I can think of a workaround, but it might raise eyebrows at the next skill/proficiency check.
Gravity. And the direction your body and hand are moving when exposed to it. And to turbulence.
It’s hard to pull on collective and also roll throttle inwards. The higher you pull, the more unnatural it gets. By having it roll outwards, it will naturally follow the motion of the hand when you pull. And in helicopters where there is no governor, this will make it easier to keep rpm steady as you pull more load.
Adam, that sounds a plausible theory, and there is a sort of ergonomic correlation between conventional collective and throttle. But with the lag of a turbo it doesn’t always work like that, because we need to give it gas before exerting upward pressure on the lever. Also, the range of movement of both controls is pretty small.
Ignoring new-fangled machines with governors and mechanical correlators…
Another theory is that uncle Igor’s original WW2 R-4 had a single collective lever between the seats, with the throttle operating “motorbike-wise” for an ex-fixed-wing pilot flying from left seat. Is that so? Then new chopper pilots trained in the right seat and stayed there.
The exception being machines designed to accommodate three bottoms side-by-side.
I just think it is easier to roll out than in when raising the lever.
