aviation industry solved this problem with ARINC Standards.

didn't want pilots fumbling around at speed close to the ground while carrying multiple tonnes of meat and fuel

 

Of the six or seven different aircraft I have flown, no two were alike in almost any manner. Throttles in different places, sticks, yokes all different. And so on.

 

I was about to say close to the same thing. Other than the functions of pedals and yoke/stick, everything else is a cr@p-shoot. Well, at least throttle, prop and mixture controls have been somewhat close to center of the panel.. Trim is in various locations, instrumentation is no where near standardized.
Randy

 

It really surprises me that all Fords aren't the same. That's just dumb. At least between my wife's Merc and my BMW, I can understand - German rivalry demands that all the controls be exactly the opposite. But I guess it's probably similar within Ford, each new design team trying to outdo the other.

 

I really don't see this as a problem. Kind of reminds me of a member on a Harley forum asking why Harley didn't put a warning light for when your forks are locked...... Really?

 

Sort of. The colors of the throttle, carb heat, and mixture are all the same (white, red, blue), but the placement is all over the map. My Long-EZ had the stick on the right armrest, and the throttle/mixture/heat on the left armrest. In the center was the nose wheel retract and throttle/gear warning buttons/buzzer. Also had the speed brake and elevator trim on the left arm rest.

 

Long-EZ was not really a production aircraft - but was sure a heart-throb of mine for a very long time....
I switched back and forth between various Piper / Cessna / BeechCraft but was very close to doing a kit plane..

 

Don't feel bad. 80% of all homebuilts never got finished. Mine took me 7 years. Of course I was working 80 hour weeks in Silicon Valley at the same time. And the Long-EZ was never a "kit"; you pretty much built everything with a few exceptions like engine, wheels/tires, canopy, propeller, engine mount, and several of the metal parts. None of those things came in a kit, you had to purchase them on the open market. It was the most fun to fly of any aircraft that I've flown in. I've had time in Cessnas, Pipers, Mooneys, and even a Rockwell Commander. The EZ was just way more fun.

 

you are correct the controls / instrumentation in general aviation aircraft especially the older ones is highly variable. I was thinking more of modern heavy commercial.