Cyclic & Collective Basic Control Inputs

Aug 06, 2018

Cyclic & Collective Basic Control Inputs

This controls that's in your right hand is what we call the cyclic. When you're in a hover, we're using this control to keep us centered in one place. Now the trick to use it is a series of tiny movements, or tiny pressure changes. We often say it's more like you're willing it to move than even trying to make it move.

If it's a smooth day and you're doing well, it takes very little changes in the cyclic to keep yourself in one position. Basically when we take of, we're adding power with the collective on the left hand, but we're also just pushing a little bit of forward pressure on that cyclic, that's what makes the helicopter go forward. We want to turn left, we just gently push to the left. We want to turn right, we push to the right.

Cyclic & Collective Basic Control Inputs

This control right here is what we call the collective, we remove the seat belt out of the way, we have a lock right down here to keep this in place. During flight, this is relatively simple, when we want to go up we raise the collective. We want to go down, we push down.

This collective increases the pitch on all the blades, and as it increases the pitch that increases lift, that's what makes you go up. You want to go down, you push it down, decreases the pitch and the helicopter descends. Here on the end we have the throttle, this way for throttle on, this way for throttle off. We're raising and lowering this collective, and we're also adjusting very slight, just very slight minute changes with the throttle to keep the RPM in the operating range.

The collective is what makes the helicopter go up and down basically, it’s on your left hand. When you raise the collective, it changes the pitch on all three of these blades collectively. That's what makes you go up. When you want to go up, you pull the collective up, increases pitch to the blades, increases the lift and it goes up. You want to descend, you want to go down, exact opposite, you just lower the collective, as you lower the collective it collectively decreases the pitch on the blades, and then you descend.

Cyclic & Collective Basic Control Inputs

Let us help you with all of your ratings! We have four FAA certified courses, Private PilotCommercial PilotInstrument Pilot, and Certified Flight Instructor. We have a bundle pack called, Professional Pilot Lifetime Membership, that includes all this for life.