Flight Controls

There are four primary flight controls in a helicopter. Unlike fixed-wing aircraft, all four must be coordinated simultaneously — especially in the hover, where even small corrections require input from all controls at once.

Collective

Located on the left side of the pilot seat, pulled up or pushed down. Changes the pitch angle of all rotor blades simultaneously.

Raising collective = increases blade pitch = more lift = aircraft climbs (or maintains altitude as speed decreases)
Lowering collective = decreases blade pitch = less lift = aircraft descends
Raising collective also increases drag and torque — requires right pedal input to compensate
The throttle correlator (or governor on turbines) automatically adjusts engine power to maintain RPM as collective changes

Photograph of a pilot's left hand on a helicopter collective lever, with the twist-grip throttle at its end. — The collective, at your left hand. Raising it increases pitch on every blade at once. The twist grip at the end is the throttle. FAA Helicopter Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-21B) — US Government work, public domain

Cyclic

Located between the pilot's legs (or on the right side in tandem seating). Tilts the rotor disc in the direction you push it.

Forward cyclic = rotor disc tilts forward = helicopter moves forward
Aft cyclic = rotor disc tilts back = helicopter slows or moves backward
Left/right cyclic = lateral movement
In a hover, the cyclic is your most active control — small, constant corrections
Works by changing blade pitch at different points in the rotation (via the swashplate)

Photograph of a helicopter cyclic stick rising from the floor between the seats. — The cyclic. It tilts the rotor disc in whichever direction you move it. FAA Helicopter Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-21B) — US Government work, public domain

Anti-Torque Pedals

The two foot pedals control the tail rotor blade pitch, which controls yaw.

Right pedal = decreases tail rotor thrust = less is opposing the main rotor's torque = the torque turns the nose right (for a CCW main rotor)
Left pedal = increases tail rotor thrust = more than enough to oppose torque = nose yaws left
In cruise flight, pedals are mostly neutral with slight right pedal to counteract torque
During power changes: adding power needs right pedal, reducing power needs left pedal
At low airspeed and high power, the pedals are working hardest — highest LTE risk

Photograph of a pair of helicopter anti-torque pedals on the cockpit floor. — The anti-torque pedals. They change tail rotor pitch — a helicopter has no rudder. FAA Helicopter Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-21B) — US Government work, public domain

Throttle

On most piston helicopters, the throttle is a twist grip on the collective. On turbines, it's typically a separate condition lever (idle/fly/off).

The throttle correlator links collective and throttle automatically — raise collective, throttle increases
On carbureted engines (R22), the correlator is mechanical. You may still need to fine-tune RPM manually
On turbine helicopters, a governor automatically maintains RPM — hands-off throttle management
In an autorotation, the throttle is reduced to idle (or auto-governed off) so the engine doesn't interfere with rotor RPM

Control Interactions

No control input in a helicopter happens in isolation. Every input requires a compensating input from at least one other control:

Raise collective → add right pedal (counteract increased torque), adjust cyclic to maintain position
Forward cyclic → helicopter accelerates and loses altitude → raise collective slightly to maintain altitude
Power change on approach → pedal adjustment required for every power change

Three-panel diagram. Top: collective pitch angles all blades equally so the aircraft rises vertically. Middle: cyclic pitch angles each blade individually so the aircraft moves forward, back, or rolls. Bottom: differential collective pitch increases the pitch of one rotor over the other to control yaw about the vertical axis. — Collective changes every blade together; cyclic changes each blade as it goes round. **The third panel is a tandem-rotor aircraft's yaw control** — differential collective between the front and rear rotors. A single-rotor helicopter like the ones on this track yaws with the tail rotor instead, which is what the pedals command.

This interconnection is why the hover is so challenging for new students — you're constantly making small simultaneous corrections with all four controls.