1. Non-rotating outer ring (blue) 2. Turning inner ring (silver) 3. Ball joint 4. Control (pitch) preventing turning of outer ring 5. Control (roll) 6. Linkages (silver) to the rotor blade #. Linkages (black) that make the inner ring turn

There is a saying in the aviation community that helicopters are a thousand moving parts going in generally the same direction. There is some truth to this. How does the helicopter change direction? Black magic? Pure, unadulterated evil? A mechanical linkage that changes the pitch and path of the blades, creating a higher lift region opposed by a lower lift region allowing the aircraft to move towards the lower lift region? Most likely, it’s a combination of all three.
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