Lift Off in 2026: Conquer the Theory of Rotary Wing Flight Challenge!

Settling with power is when the helicopter is still in powered flight but begins to descend into its own downwash. The rotor wash stacks up in the rotor disk and recirculates, reducing the effective lift the rotor can produce. Because of this, the aircraft continues to descend despite power being applied, and the descent rate can increase unless you change the flight path to exit the downwash.

This is different from a non-powered descent, which has no thrust from the rotor to begin with, and from a stall in hover, which refers to a blade angle/lift issue rather than downwash recirculation. It’s also not a shallow descent with flare, which is a controlled, slower descent with forward speed and a flare maneuver to cushion landing.