Relating the Controls and the Swash Plate

The following videos help you understand the relationship between the cyclic and collective controls and the swash plate assembly. In general:

• The collective control raises the entire swash plate assembly as a unit. This has the effect of changing the pitch of both blades simultaneously.
• The cyclic control pushes one side of the swash plate assembly upward or downward. This has the effect of changing the pitch of the blades unevenly depending on where they are in the rotation. The result of the cyclic control is that the rotor's wings have a greater angle of attack (and therefore more lift) on one side of the helicopter and a lesser angle of attack (and less lift) on the opposite side. The unbalanced lift causes the helicopter to tip and move laterally.

Click here to download the 25-second video showing the helicopter's fixed and rotating swash plates. (1.5 MB)

Click here to download the 55-second video showing the helicopter's cyclic control. (3.6 MB)

Click here to download the 20-second video showing how the swash plate assembly reacts to changes in the cyclic control. (1.5 MB)

Click here to download the 20-second video showing the effect of precession on the helicopter's blades. The precession here is the same precession discussed in How Gyroscopes Work. (1.2 MB)

Click here to download the 10-second video showing the helicopter's collective control. (0.8 MB)

Click here to download the 15-second video showing the swash plate assembly's reaction to the collective control. (1.0 MB)