Pushing the right pedal causes tail rotor thrust to decrease; what is the resulting nose direction?

• A. Tail rotor thrust increases; nose turns left
• B. Tail rotor thrust decreases; nose turns right
• C. Tail rotor thrust increases; nose turns right
• D. Tail rotor thrust decreases; nose turns left

Answer: (B)

Yaw is controlled by tail rotor thrust, which counters the torque produced by the main rotor. Pushing the right pedal here lowers the tail rotor thrust, reducing the counter-torque. With less counteracting force, the helicopter’s fuselage yaws in the direction of the main rotor’s torque, which in this setup causes the nose to turn to the right. If tail rotor thrust were increased instead, the opposite yaw would occur (nose to the left).