A video from the FlyingMAir YouTube Channel.

This is the first in my Helicopter Flight Control series covering the four flight controls in a helicopter. In this video, I show you the anti-torque pedals and how they control the tail rotor blade pitch. Then I take you for a flight and demonstrate pedal turns and using the pedals to get in and out of trim. Got questions about those two little strings in the front of the helicopter’s cockpit? I answer them, too.

BIG DISCLAIMER: I am not nor have I ever been a flight instructor. The purpose of this video is not to teach you how to fly a helicopter. It’s simply to explain, mostly to non-pilots or fixed wing pilots what the anti-torque pedals do. If you want more information, I strongly urge you to consult the Helicopter Flying Handbook, which is FREE on the FAA Website: https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/helicopter_flying_handbook/ You’ll find Chapter 3 especially informative.

There are a few things I didn’t cover in this video, but I might show them in future videos. The first is the obvious: what does the tail rotor do? Simply said, it counteracts torque. Newton said that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. So when the main rotor blades spin counter clockwise, the helicopter’s airframe wants to spin clockwise. The rail rotor (or some equivalent) counteracts this, preventing the helicopter from spinning around. It does this by providing lift the same way the main rotor blades do, but since it’s mounted sideways, the lift is really sideways thrust. The anti-torque pedals enable you to adjust the amount of thrust the tail rotor blades produce by changing their pitch. Again, consult the excellent free resource I linked to above. It can answer questions better than I can.

I might also, in a future video, show how a Robinson’s PIC pedals can be adjusted, show other helicopter’s pedals, and explain how the dual control pedals can be installed. If you have a photo of another helicopter’s pedals and would like to share it with channel viewers in a future video, send it to this channel at gmail.com. (I won’t put the actual address here so I don’t get my address scooped up by bots.) Be sure to give me your name and the make/model/year of the helicopter. Please don’t use that email address to ask me questions; that’s what AMA chats are for.

About Me and the Helicopter

• I have been flying for about 20 years. My nearly 4,000 hours of flight time is in Robinson R44, Robinson R22, and Bell 206L (Long Ranger) helicopters.
• The helicopter is a 2005 Robinson R44 Raven II — the same one that appears in the photo at the beginning of the video. You can learn more about them here: https://robinsonheli.com/r44-specifications/ I own this helicopter. It is the third helicopter I’ve owned since 2000.
• My helicopter has ADS-B Out and is picked up by radar facilities. You can see my track for recent flights on Flightradar24: https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/n7534D This is a great site for tracking any almost any flight, including the airlines.

About the Video

• The video was recorded with four cameras (!): an iPhone Xs (for shots of my feet on the pedals and the trim strings) an iPhone 8 Plus (for shots of the tail rotor in motion), a GoPro Hero 7 Black (for cockpit POV and in-cockpit audio; https://amzn.to/2Zh7nWr), and a GoPro Hero 3 (for “nosecam” video and helicopter sound).
• The audio was recorded using a Røde Podcaster microphone (https://amzn.to/2Z8yFDd) feeding into an iMac (for intro overdub), a Comica wireless lapel mic with dead cat wind screen (https://amzn.to/2KMz1qp) feeding into the iPhone 8 Plus, an NFlightCam audio cable (https://amzn.to/31Vn1Zu) feeding into the Hero 7, and ambient sound feeding into the Hero 3. The helicopter sound was dialed down to about 25% of normal volume so it wouldn’t be annoying.
• The video was edited on a Macintosh using Screenflow software. Learn more about it here: https://www.telestream.net/screenflow/overview.htm This was a short video, but it was relatively complex with four different audio/video feeds.
• The intro music is by Bob Levitus, famed “Dr. Mac.” You can find him here: http://www.boblevitus.com/

I try to drop cockpit POV videos every Sunday morning and drop “extras” with more info about owning and operating a helicopter midweek. I also host occasional livestreams with Q&A chats. Subscribe so you don’t miss anything new! And tell your friends. The more subscribers I have, the more motivated I am to keep producing videos like this one.

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