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In short, the cyclic control manipulates the AoA (Angle of Attack) of the rotor blades as they move through the air. A higher angle of attack generates more lift for a given relative airspeed, a lower AoA means less lift. Whereas the collective changes the AoA of all of the blades "collectively",changing the overall lift of the rotors -helicopter go up, helicopter go down - the cyclic control manipulates the AoA of the blades as they move in the "cycle", as the rotor blade moves around the hub. (Inventive with the naming of controls, aren't we?) By causing the blades to increase their AoA as they move towards one point in the rotor disc, and decrease their AoA as they move to the opposite side, lift on one side is greater. Push the cyclic forward, and the blades will have a higher AoA as they move towards the back of the disk and a lower AoA as the move towards the front. Thus, there is more lift in the back - rotor disc pitches forward, helicopter goes forward. In summary, whichever direction you push the cyclic, that side of the rotor disc decreases AoA and the opposite increases AoA. Nudge the stick lightly at 45-degrees, and the blades will have a slightly higher AoA at 315-degrees, a slightly lower AoA at 45-degress, and the helicopter will ease forward and to the right. Really laying into the stick increases the difference in AoA on opposite sides of the rotor - yanking back on the cyclic will cause a sharp increase in AoA as the blades move towards the front, and the nose will rear up, although most helicopters aren't fond of aggressive control inputs. Hope this helps. If you need a more detailed explanation or want to know the mechanics of how all of this is accomplished, it varies with the way different rotors are designed. The detailed mechanics are beyond me, maybe an engineer out there will chime in.

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Q: Explain helicopter cyclic pitch controls
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Related questions

How does a helicopter get off the ground?

Answer That is easy and it is difficult to explain. Each of the helicopter blades act as a wing and produce Lift. The blades have control inputs that rotate it so its angle increases and this increases lift. When the pilot pulls UP on the Collective Controls, this increases the pitch of all the blades at once so all begin to lift together. The helicopter will rise vertically. In order for the helicopter to fly forward, the Cyclic Controls increases the pitch on each blade as it reaches a specific point in its rotation around the Mast. This pulls the aircraft forward. Think of it as rowing a boat by swinging your paddle around your body but only dipping it into the water at one point.


How does the helicopter get its lifting force?

the helicopter pushes forward when the pilot pushes the cyclic control forward. that rotates the blades forward . while pushing forward on the cyclic, the pilot must also pull up on the collective control. that will add pitch to the blades, thrusting the helicopter forward.


How do you control the direction of a helicopter?

You change the tail rotor pitch with the pedals. You can also use the cyclic and move in another direction, which will tend to cause the fuselage to align with the new course.


Changing the pitch of the rotor blades will result in what?

The term "rotor blades" usually refers to a Helicopter. Increasing the pitch of the blade means the angle of attack is increased which produces more Lift. Increased pitch of bothMain Rotor Blades will result in all blades increasing Lift, thus causing the helicopter to climb vertically. For directional control (or cyclic control), the swashplate is tilted and causes a cyclic input into the pitch of each individual blade as it rotates. Increasing the pitch of Main Rotor Blades individually is the method used to cause the helicopter to fly forward. This causes the thrust vector of Main Rotor to tilt forward (or sideways) and pulls the helo forward. Tail Rotor Blades increase pitch together. They do not have cyclic pitch. Increasing the pitch of the Tail Rotor Blades will create more lift to one side and cause the tail to be pulled to that direction. Custermen


How does a helicopter stay in the air?

The source of lift force from the rotor (Rotation of two objects 'blade' creates a lifting force) blades allows the helicopter to stay in one area for extended periods of time. Each rotor blade, whether it is 2 or 7, has the ability to change pitch. This means the blade can rotate so that the nose or leading edge can tilt down or up. If it pitches up, the lift of the blade increases. Collective Controls As the blades rotate it produces lift. The pilot inputs controls that increases the pitch on all the blades at once. All the blades pitch up and produce more lift, so the helicopter rises. Cyclic Controls The pitch of the blades can also be controlled so that the blade pitches UP when it is on one side of the helicopter and pitches DOWN when it is on the other side. As the advancing blade is moving from rear to front, it decreases it Lift. Then as the blade moves to other side, it increases its Lift and pushes the helo through the air. In a simply explanation, this is what causes the helicopter to fly forward. Think of it like someone paddling a canoe. On many helicopters, the input is accomplished through the controls of the Swashplate. Custermen - Worked 11 years at Bell Helicopter.


What is the revolving aerofoil used to provide lift or to control a plane in flight called?

I'm not entirely sure what you are trying to ask, but because of your usage of the term "revolving aerofoil," I will explain a simplified theory of operation of a standard helicopter to answer your question.The revolving Airfoil used to provide lift and most control of an aircraft would apply only to a Helicopter, because the revolving Main Rotor is the "wing" of this type of aircraft (as opposed to a non-rotary airfoil on a fixed-wing aircraft). Without getting into detail on the cyclic and collective controls that the pilot uses, let us just understand that the Airfoil rotates on the helicopter and when the pitch (the angle of the blade in respect to the flow of air) of the blades are increased, the main rotor will provide upward lift for the helicopter. Through the use of the pilot's controls, the blade pitch can be manipulated in such a way that the helicopter can be pitched forward or backward, and banked (rolled) to the left or the right, as well as providing upward lift. However, because of the torque generated by the rotation of the Main Rotor, the Tail Rotor is designed to counteract the tendency of the entire fuselage to spin opposite of the Main Rotor direction of rotation.In summation, the Main Rotor is a revolving airfoil that generates lift while also giving pitch and bank control to the helicopter. The Tail Rotorprovides yaw control. -APTech


How do you fly a helicopter?

I cant tell you what all the buttons do but I can say the basics. When you are seated in the right side of the helicopter in the pilot seat, you will find both your arms and legs resting on the controls. In your left hand you will be holding the collective pitch, this increases or decreases the engine speed. This gives you the ability to control the altitude of the craft. In the right hand you have the cyclic pitch, this tilts the main rotor so the helicopter can move left right backwards and fowards. As the craft is tilted forward the chopper will start to pick up speed. Your feet rest on the rotationairy pedals. These control the tail rotor, enabling you to rotate the helicopter whilst hovering. The rotationairy pedals are usually used in combination with the cyclic and collective pitch to make tight turns at low altitudes. For a pilot to succsessfully control the craft and get the maximum capabilities out of it. He must be at full alert at all times and use all the controls to operate the craft. Radar awareness is also very important for the pilots safety, especially at night. The radar hub is usually located under the nose. Some military model helicopters however, such as the AH-64 apache longbow, have the radar hub sitting ontop of the main rotor shaft.


What is blade pitch of a helicopter?

The angle of the rotor blades.


What is a pitch on a helicopter?

that is the way the rotro blades are angled.


How does a tandem helicopter steer?

There is a part on a helicopter that is called a swashplate, it converts non rotating controls into rotational movements via an inner ring riding on a bearing attached to an outer ring that is able to pivot on the shaft. On a tandem helicopter it uses both of them in unison most of the time. A helicopter maneuvers by adjusting the pitch of the blades to be more biased to one side, basically pushing air at an angle, causing it to go the opposing direction. So when a tandem rotor helicopter wants to fly forward it pitches both (or even one depending on what you want to do with it exactly) to fly forward. This all applies to the cyclic (steering). For yaw (turning) they either tilt the back only (to pivot around the front rotors), the front only (to pivot around the front rotors) or both (to pivot around the center). with the joy stick!!!!!!!! A helicopter with twin main rotors steers by flying the rotors just as a single rotor helicopter would do to make a turn. A single rotor helo uses the main rotor to tilt and bank. For a twin rotor helo, the two rotors do the same but can pivot the helo about its axis. The controls are a bit more complex than for a single rotor.


What does pitch control in an airplane?

Pitch controls the angle up or down of the aircraft.


What does the elevator do for an airplane?

controls aircraft pitch