Helicopter Flight Control System

A helicopter pilot manipulates the helicopter flight controls to achieve and maintain controlled
aerodynamic flight. Changes to the Aircraft flight control system transmit mechanically to the rotor,
producing aerodynamic effects on the rotor blades that make the helicopter move in a deliberate way.
To tilt forward and back (pitch) or sideways (roll), requires that the controls alter the angle of attack of
the main rotor blades cyclically during rotation, creating differing amounts of lift (force) at different
points in the cycle. To increase or decrease overall lift requires that the controls alter the angle of
attack for all blades collectively by equal amounts at the same time, resulting in ascent, descent,
acceleration and deceleration.
A typical helicopter has three flight control inputsthe cyclic stick, the collective lever, and the
rudder pedals. Depending on the complexity of the helicopter, the cyclic and collective may be linked
together by a mixing unit, a mechanical or hydraulic device that combines the inputs from both and
then sends along the "mixed" input to the control surfaces to achieve the desired result. The manual
throttle may also be considered a flight control because it is needed to maintain rotor speed on smaller
helicopters without governors. The governors also help the pilot control the collective pitch on the
helicopters main rotors, to keep a stable, more accurate flight.

Types of Controls:
Cyclic
Collective
Rudder Pedals
1) Cyclic Control
The cyclic control is usually located between the pilot's legs and is commonly called the cyclic stick
or just cyclic. On most helicopters, the cyclic is similar in appearance to a joystick in a conventional
aircraft. The control is called the cyclic because it changes the pitch angle of the rotor blades
cyclically. That is, the pitch, or feathering angle, of the rotor blades changes depending upon their
position as they rotate around the hub, so that all blades have the same incidence at the same point in
the cycle. The change in cyclic pitch has the effect of changing the angle of attack, and thus the lift
generated by a single blade as it moves around the rotor disk. This in turn causes the blades to fly up
or down in sequence, depending on the changes in lift affecting each individual blade.
The result is to tilt the rotor disk in a particular direction, resulting in the helicopter moving in that
direction. If the pilot pushes the cyclic forward, the rotor disk tilts forward, and the rotor produces a
thrust vector in the forward direction. If the pilot pushes the cyclic to the right, the rotor disk tilts to
the right and produces thrust in that direction, causing the helicopter to move sideways in a hover or
to roll into a right turn during forward flight, much as in a fixed wing aircraft.

2) Collective Control
The collective control, or collective lever, is normally located on the left side of the pilot's seat with an
adjustable friction control to prevent inadvertent movement. The collective changes the pitch angle of
all the main rotor blades collectively (i.e., all at the same time) and independent of their position.
Therefore, if a collective input is made, all the blades change equally, and the result is the helicopter
increases or decreases its total lift derived from the rotor. In level flight this would cause a climb or
descent, while with the helicopter pitched forward an increase in total lift would produce an
acceleration together with a given amount of ascent.

3) Rudder Pedals
The rudder or anti-torque pedals are located in the same place as the rudder pedals in an airplane i.e.
beneath the foot and serve a similar purposethey control the direction that the nose of the aircraft
points. Applying the pedal in a given direction changes the tail rotor blade pitch, increasing or
reducing tail rotor thrust and making the nose yaw in the direction of the applied pedal.

Helicopter Controls and Effects

Name

Direct Controls

Primary Effect

Secondary
Effect

Used in Forward
Flight

Used in Hover
Flight

Cyclic
(lateral)

Varies main rotor

blade pitch with
left and right
movement
Varies main rotor
blade pitch with
fore and aft
movement
Collective angle
of attack for the
rotor main blades
via the
swashplate

Tilts main rotor

disk left and right
through the
swashplate
Tilts main rotor
disk forward and
back via
the swashplate
Increase/decrease
pitch angle of all
main rotor blades
equally, causing
the aircraft to
ascend/descend

Induces roll in
direction moved

To create
movement to
sides

To move
sideways

Induces pitch
nose down or up

To adjust forward
speed and control
rolled-turn

To move forward
or backwards

Collective pitch
supplied to tail
rotor blades

Yaw rate

Cyclic
(longitudinal)

Collective

Rudder Pedals

Increase/decrease
torque. Note: in
some helicopters
the throttle
control is a part
of the collective
stick. Rotor speed
is kept basically
constant
throughout the
flight
Increase/decrease
torque and engine
speed (less than
collective)

To adjust skid
height/vertical
speed
To adjust power
through rotor
blade pitch
setting

To adjust side slip

angle

To control yaw
rate

Basic fight controls in a helicopter

Flight conditions

There are three basic flight conditions for a helicopter.

Hover
Forward Flight
Autorotation

1) Hover
Some pilots consider hovering the most challenging aspect of helicopter flight.[4] This is because
helicopters are generally dynamically unstable, meaning that deviations from a given attitude are not
corrected without pilot input. Thus, frequent control inputs and corrections must be made by the pilot
to keep the helicopter at a desired location and altitude. The pilot's use of control inputs in a hover is
as follows: the cyclic is used to eliminate drift in the horizontal plane, (e.g., forward, aft, and side to
side motion); the collective is used to maintain desired altitude; and the tail rotor (or anti-torque
system) pedals are used to control nose direction or heading. It is the interaction of these controls that
can make learning to hover difficult, since often an adjustment in any one control requires the
adjustment of the other two, necessitating pilot familiarity with the coupling of control inputs needed
to produce smooth flight.

2) Forward flight
In forward flight, a helicopter's flight controls behave more like those in a fixed-wing aircraft. Moving
the cyclic forward makes the nose pitch down, thus losing altitude and increasing airspeed. Moving
the cyclic back makes the nose pitch up, slowing the helicopter and making it climb. Increasing
collective (power) while maintaining a constant air speed induces a climb, while decreasing collective
(power) makes the helicopter descend. Coordinating these two inputs, down collective plus aft (back)
cyclic or up collective plus forward cyclic causes airspeed changes while maintaining a constant
altitude. The pedals serve the same function in both a helicopter and an airplane, to maintain balanced
flight. This is done by applying a pedal input in the direction necessary to centre the ball in the turn
and bank indicator.

3) Autorotation
Differential pitch control
For helicopters with contra-rotating rotorsalso known as Coaxial mountedone over the other on
the same rotor shaft helicopter control requires interaction between the two rotors. However, a
helicopter with tandem rotorscounter rotating rotors on different rotor masts uses differential
collective pitch to change the pitch attitude of the aircraft. To pitch nose down and accelerate forward,
the pilot decreases collective pitch on the front rotor and increases collective pitch on the rear rotor
proportionally. Conversely, the synchropter and transverse-mounted rotor counter rotating rotorcraft
have two large horizontal rotor assemblies mounted side by side; helicopters use differential collective
pitch to affect the roll of the aircraft. All of these configurations use differential cyclic pitch to control
movement about the yaw axis, tilting the rotors in opposite directions to cause the aircraft to spin in
the direction of the tilted rotors.