Autogyro and Helicopter Control

This video compares the flight controls of a typical helicopter to that of a small autogyro. Most helicopters use a swashplate to control the rotor blades on their feathering axis, while typical small autogyros use direct control of the rotor hub with no ability to feather the blades. Despite this inability to control the blades on their feathering axis, autogyros still achieve cyclic variation in blade pitch. I show this in the video with cameras positioned in both the non-rotating and the rotating world.