The Remarkable Helicopter Trivia Quiz

The cockpit of a helicopter is the central control unit where the pilot will sit. The pilot uses a cyclic stick to control the movement of the helicopter forward, back, and laterally. A collective lever aids the pilot in changing the pitch angle of the lift. The throttle controls the rotor speed of the helicopter. Finally, rudder pedals control the direction that the aircraft is pointing.

A co-pilot can often be found in the cockpit but if the aircraft does not require two pilots than a passenger can sit in the front seat.

Helicopters have two basic types of landing gear: skids and wheels. Skid gear, as seen in the diagram, is fixed and needs little maintenance. They also weigh less than wheels. However, ground handling of the helicopter is more difficult and that is why the heavier model copters utilize fixed or retractable wheels.

The horizontal stabilizer controls the rate at which the tail of the helicopter will rise. This in turn, causes the nose of the helicopter to drop, stay level, or go up. If the stabilizer is set at a high pitch, the tail will rise and the nose will go down and the airspeed will increase. If the stabilizer is set a low pitch, it will resist upward movement and slow down airspeed.

The main body of the helicopter is called the fuselage. Steel and aluminum tubing are commonly used while newer aircraft might use a composite. The tail assembly is connected to the fuselage as well and this is responsible for a large percentage of the drag experienced by the helicopter when it is moving forward.

This is also known as the rotor shaft. It connects the transmission to the rotor assembly and rotates the blades. Spinning the rotor causes lift and this is what allows the helicopter to rise vertically or hover.

A tail rotor, as the name implies, is a smaller blade located on the tail of the helicopter. Its purpose is to counteract the torque generated from the large overhead rotor. When the central rotor spins fast to lift up the copter, it creates an imbalance that makes the helicopter want to spin to counteract the force.

The tail rotor balances against this and also allows the pilot to adjust the direction of the nose when the aircraft is hovering.

The tail boom connects the tail rotor to the fuselage of the helicopter. It helps stabilize the helicopter when the main rotor is beating and the tail rotor is providing anti-torque force. The tail boom also contributes to the aerodynamics of the helicopter and has stabilizers attached to it. Finally, the boom shields the shafts and belts that are used to drive the tail rotor from the transmission.

The rudder is a movable surface that is mounted on the rear of the aircraft near the tail rotor. It controls the "yaw" of the helicopter. The yaw is movement around the axis that changes the direction the helicopter is facing, to the left or right. This movement is controlled via rudder pedals that the pilot operates.

The rotor system is the rotating part of the helicopter that generates the lift and is one of the most important parts of the aircraft. The rotor must be very strong and must be able to adjust the angles of the rotor blades with every turn. Helicopters can have between 2 and 8 of these main rotor blades.

The larger the vehicle, the heavier it weighs and needs more power and lift to be produced.

Helicopters, depending on the make and model, can hold any number of passengers. These passenger seats use a regular seat belt, similar to ones in an airplane. Some open-door helicopters use harnesses instead. Often passengers utilize headphones to be able to communicate with the pilot and with one another.