Aviation glossary
Cyclic control
The primary helicopter control operated by the right hand. Tilts the rotor disc and sets the direction of flight — forward, back or sideways.
The cyclic changes the pitch of each rotor blade individually during each revolution. Tilting the rotor disc creates a horizontal component of thrust that moves the helicopter in the direction the cyclic was displaced. The cyclic does not control the amount of thrust — that is the job of the collective — only the direction in which it acts. In a hover a skilled pilot makes constant tiny cyclic corrections to hold position.