Theory Of Rotary Wing Flight Practice Test

Countering rotor torque is about providing an opposite yawing moment so the fuselage doesn’t spin when the engine drives the main rotor. The classic solution is an anti-torque system—the tail rotor creates lateral thrust at the tail, producing a yaw moment that balances the torque produced by the main rotor. By adjusting how much thrust the tail rotor provides, you keep the helicopter’s heading in hover and control yaw throughout flight. Raising the main rotor blade pitch increases lift but also increases the torque the engine applies to the rotor; that doesn’t counter torque by itself, it actually changes how much anti-torque is needed. Downwash augmentation deals with airflow effects and doesn’t address torque reaction. Lateral cyclic input can influence motion and yaw only as a secondary effect, not as the primary method to counter torque.