We hope that this in-depth discussion satisfies any questions you might have about helicopter tail rotors. Of course, someone might come up with a better, simpler way of counteracting the force of the main rotor in a few years. Then again, someone might perfect flying saucer technology too, making helicopters a thing of the past. There are, of course, more details to the concept of overtorque. First of all, it is best to understand how a helicopter works from a pilot's point of view.
Most helicopters have what is known as a constant speed rotor.
This is similar to a constant speed prop in fixed wing aircraft. No matter what phase of flight the helicopter is in, the rotor is always turning at the same speed. As one might imagine, as the pitch of the blade increases, the torque required to keep the rotor turning at a given speed increases. For comparison, imagine yourself with a paddle on a canoe. If you turn the paddle edgewise to the water flow, it is very easy to move it through the water.