Most modern day helicopters have three different flight control systems. These are the cyclic, collective, and the anti-torque pedals.

These three flight controls are what make helicopter flight possible. If you’ve never flown a helicopter before but have flown an airplane the controls of a helicopter will take some getting used to.

Some helicopters are much more complicated and have the cyclic and collective systems linked together by something known as a mixing unit. This can be either a mechanical of hydraulic device that mixes the inputs to get the right result.

The cyclic is a control stick, which is normally situated between the pilot’s legs. The cyclic controls the pitch angle of the individual rotor blades. This tilts the rotors in the desired direction, which causes the helicopter to move in the desired direction. The cyclic is what allows the helicopter to fly forward, backwards, and sideways.

The collective controls are normally found on the left hand side of the pilot. The collective changes the pitch of all the rotor blades at the same time, regardless of their position. All of the blades change by an equal amount, which causes an increase or decrease in lift, which causes the helicopter to climb or descend.

The anti-torque pedals are found in the same place as the rudder pedals would be found in a plane. They actually control the direction the nose of the helicopter is pointing. The anti-torque pedals (also known as ruder pedals) are used to counteract the torque produced by the main rotor by allowing the pilot to manipulate how much force the tail rotor is applying. Pressing a pedal changes the direction by changing the pitch and increasing or reducing the thrust of the tail rotor. This creates yaw, which turns the nose to the desired direction.

This is a quick and basic explanation of helicopter controls. If you begin helicopter training you can expect to go into much greater detail about helicopter controls and their effect on helicopter flight.