Definition
A primary helicopter flight control, mounted vertically between the pilot's legs, that tilts the main rotor disk in the direction the stick is moved. Tilting the rotor disk changes the direction of rotor thrust, which controls the helicopter's pitch and roll and therefore its horizontal direction of flight.
Plain English
The stick the pilot moves to make the helicopter go forward, backward, left, or right. Pushing it in any direction tilts the spinning rotor blades that way, and the helicopter follows.
Context Anchor
Seen in helicopter cockpit diagrams and used whenever a pilot controls the helicopter’s direction or attitude with the main rotor.
Derivation
From the Greek 'kyklos' meaning 'circle' or 'wheel.' It is called cyclic because it changes the pitch of each rotor blade once per cycle of rotation -- each blade pitches up or down at the same point in its circular path, which is what tilts the rotor disk.
Why Pilots Care
Precise use of the cyclic stick is essential for hovering, maneuvering, and all directional flight in helicopters.
Grounding Statement
If the pilot moves the cyclic stick forward, the rotor’s lift tilts forward and the helicopter starts to move or lean forward.
Intuition Check
Do not read “cyclic” as just “repeating over and over” in a general sense. Here it means the control changes blade angle at different points around the rotor’s circle.
Example Sentence 1
The instructor told the student to apply gentle forward pressure on the cyclic stick to begin moving out of the hover.
Example Sentence 2
During the hover check, small cyclic stick inputs kept the helicopter positioned over the intended spot.