Helicopters normally have all the standard controls found in fixed wing aircraft, such as altimeter, transponders, etc. They also have a few extras. These 3 instruments show the status of the rotors and engine. The top dial shows the RPM of the main rotor, if the dial goes outside of the green area you will have to land as there will not be enough power to keep you aloft (if you lose power there is still enough RPM in the rotor to keep you flying for a few minutes depending on the aircraft, landing this way is known as autorotation.In XP you can simulate an autorotation by cutting the fuke flow with the mixture control, then bring the collective all the way up to decrease the power, just as real pilots have to do (though they actually have to push it down), and try to make a soft landing. In a real helicopter there are two needles, in the one gauge. One is Power Turbine RPM (N2). The other in Main Rotor RPM (NR). TRQ - The TORQUE gauge is the amount of "turning force" (torque!) the engine is putting out. It is usually expressed in percent power (although sometimes is PSI, KPa, etc.) The Bell JetRanger (206B-III) has a continuous operating range for torque of 0-85%. The pilot may use between 85-100% torque for up to 5 minutes. A 5 second transient limit is set at 110%, but the pilot may not intentially use this amount of power. If you get to fly a helicopter, you will notice that the more power you feed through the engine, the more rudder pedal pressure you need. This is because more power = more torque = more force needed to resist said torque (lest the helo turn in circles). The tail rotor is not called the "anti-torque" for nothing. N1- This gauge displays gas generator turbine RPM (N1). Because the engine is a "free" turbine, the compressor and gas generator turbine can turn at one RPM while the "power" turbine turns at another RPM. The N1 operating limitations are 105% maximum, transient limit of 106% for 15 seconds. The throttle control operates a little differently to the normal fixed wing control. In a helicopter this represents the collective, which looks like a cars handbrake to the pilots left. When I fly I bring it to the middle to take off and generally keep it there. When I want to land I gradually bring it up to slow down. You can use the F1/F2 keys to alter the power whilst using the mouse to fly. The engine is controlled by FADEC (Full Authority Digital Engine Control). FADEC is used in real helicopters. It is very powerful, not even the pilot can override it.