Collective Control

The collective control raises the entire swash plate assembly as a unit. As the swash plate rises or falls, it changes the pitch (angle of attack) of all rotor blades simultaneously and to the same degree. This is known as collective control.


Therefore, when the collective control is increased, it will raise the entire swash plate assembly increasing the angle of attack. Increasing the angle of attack increases the lift of the main rotor, causing the heli to gain altitude, while decreasing the angle of attack decreases the lift.


Since all blades are changing pitch together, the change in lift remains constant throughout every full turn of the blades.