Exercise No 4 Effects of Controls
Aim: To teach the effects of the controls in forward flight
Airmanship:
LOOKOUT not to focus on the instruments but keep a good 3D
lookout for other Aircraft using the clock code.
Handing over the controls using the correct terms
“I have control” – “you have control”
This exercise can be seen to be rather bitty but the purpose is to demonstrate the use of each of
the controls and to observe their effects. It is very important at this stage that you not only
understand how each of the controls work and what they do but even more important that you
observe their effects and characteristics. This will lead to a better understanding and once you get
to exercise 6 you will be able to anticipate the aircraft movement and be a much better pilot with
much smoother flying. The main controls are the cyclic, collective, throttle and pedal which
although vary from aircraft to aircraft all have the same characteristics in each aircraft type.
Controls
The Cyclic Stick: The cyclic in the R22 is a T bar which allows both yourself and the instructor to
share the controls. It is free to teeter around a central control, this does nothing to the flying but
simply gives a more comfortable position for the pilot. The ideal position is holding the cyclic in
your right and moving its position low down so it rests it on your leg. This will mean that your inputs
will come from your wrist rather that your elbow.
The cyclic controls the disc attitude and therefore the fuselage attitude.
Pushing the cyclic forward pushes the rotor disc forward which is
followed by the aircraft. The rotor disc is what we call the area
shaped by the moving rotors. The cyclic is very sensitive and does not
provide a lot of feedback, i.e. it is not a lot harder to push it further
forwards. It does not self centre and we never tend to let go of it in
flight. The cyclic gives the aircraft its basic manoeuvres of faster,
slower, left and r