With an increase in power, the nose of the helicopter will turn in what direction?

With an increase in power, the nose of the helicopter will turn in what direction?

• A. Right
• B. Up
• C. Straight Ahead
• D. Left

Answer: (D)

Torque that reacts on the fuselage is the main idea. As power increases, the engine applies more torque to spin the main rotor. Newton’s third law says the helicopter fuselage experiences an equal and opposite torque. The tail rotor counteracts this by pushing on the tail to keep the nose from yawing. If you don’t adjust pedal input to compensate, the increased torque makes the fuselage rotate in the direction opposite to the main rotor’s rotation. Here, the main rotor turns clockwise when viewed from above, so the opposite yaw is to the left. That’s why the nose turns left with an increase in power.

Torque that reacts on the fuselage is the main idea. As power increases, the engine applies more torque to spin the main rotor. Newton’s third law says the helicopter fuselage experiences an equal and opposite torque. The tail rotor counteracts this by pushing on the tail to keep the nose from yawing. If you don’t adjust pedal input to compensate, the increased torque makes the fuselage rotate in the direction opposite to the main rotor’s rotation. Here, the main rotor turns clockwise when viewed from above, so the opposite yaw is to the left. That’s why the nose turns left with an increase in power.