A helicopter has a power unit supported on an arch support member above an
airframe. The power unit may be moved forward and rearward by a trim
actuator to trim the helicopter and tilted about pitch and roll axes by
control actuators for directional control. The control actuators may form
a parallelogram linkage with the arms of the arch support member. Each
control actuator may comprise a hydraulic cylinder having two cavities
and a pair of pistons which further divide each cavity into a pair of
volumes. The arch support member and landing gear assemblies may connect
to transversely extending struts. The landing gear assemblies may be
designed to progressively deform in case of a high impact landing.