Originally Posted by
Blowie
But achieving the same assurance in a helicopter can be quite a challenge - think about the result of 'full and free' just before lift-off!
I used to spend a lot of time riding around in helicopters and a control check just before lift off was pretty common. It's done with just a little bit of collective in, to anywhere near enough to hover. The cyclic is moved around it's travel. The results can be seen in the movement of the rotor disk, and felt in the movement of the aircraft.