PLT336: Collective And Cyclic Pitch Control
What code PLT336 covers, why the FAA tests it, and how to study Collective And Cyclic Pitch Control before your checkride.
Recall pitch control - collective / cyclic 9
What this means for your checkride
The collective pitch control changes the pitch angle of all main rotor blades simultaneously and equally, so raising it increases pitch on every blade and lowering it decreases pitch, which is how the pilot controls thrust and altitude. Changing blade pitch changes angle of incidence and drag, so a proportional change in power is needed to hold rotor rpm. The cyclic pitch control tilts the tip path plane in the direction it is moved, directing rotor thrust to control the direction of travel forward, aft, left, or right. Because of gyroscopic precession, the linkages change blade pitch about 90 degrees ahead of the direction the cyclic is displaced.
These are the primary flight controls, and knowing what each changes on the blades is foundational to helicopter flight.
The collective changes all blades together while the cyclic changes pitch cyclically around the disk; confusing their roles leads to control errors.
Where to study it
A code on your test report is an area of deficiency. An authorized instructor must review it with you and endorse that review before you take the practical test, and the examiner may revisit it during the oral. Study it until you can explain it out loud, not just recognize the answer.