Why do Pipers have 1 door?

ColoPilot said:
I know I'm a nerd, but it had 2. One for the lunar egress and one for docking with the command module.
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Good catch, but no one used the docking hatch on the ground. Wonder if the astronauts were trained to use in an emergency where the main hatch was damaged.
 
Because an aircraft with one door ls lighter than an aicraft with 2 doors. An aicraft with one door is also faster and cheaper to build.
 
Clip4 said:
Because an aircraft with one door ls lighter than an aicraft with 2 doors. An aicraft with one door is also faster and cheaper to build.
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And from another thread, more likely to break apart in flight. ;)
 
Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
For your typical Piper, the one door lets you get into both seats - front and rear. And, putting the door on the right puts you in a position to flip the prop from behind and reach the throttle - particularly important if you are on floats. Of course, many Pipers now have electric starters, but when the design came out hand propping was "standard".
Skip to 1:45 for the re-start
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All these posts, and only one has the real reason buried in it...and it's been totally ignored.

It's on the right so that the pilot can be at the controls while others load and unload. There are a few circumstances where this is needed:
  • Hand-propping. You need someone at the controls and someone pulling the prop. The person pulling the prop then needs to get in the plane if they are also a passenger.
  • Holding the brakes. As people get in and out, you're supposed to hold the brakes. Some club even require this.
  • Hot loading. While not a recommended practice, letting passengers on and off with the prop turning requires someone at the controls.
There's convenience reasons, too...making a new passenger figure out how to do the shimmy-shuffle needed to get into the other seat on a Mooney, for instance, is often a bit much. The passenger gets the comfort of a door in easy reach...in an emergency, the pilot is much more likely to be able to figure out how to reach over and open the door for a passenger vs. the other way around. One door sucks, but one door on the left would be worse overall than the right. Unless you only fly alone.
 
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