You can lean every which way but the chair legs stay put. Holding the rotor to the mast is a very special nut called the Jesus nut. It screws on to the top of the mast. The Jesus nut has a particular shape and strength that insure it remains tight. If the Jesus nut loosens the rotor comes off and the pilot calls out the nut's name as the helicopter falls like a brick.
Various gadgets connect the blades to the pilot's hands.
To the left of her seat, slanting forward out of the floor, is the collective stick. When the pilot wants to go up she pulls up on the collective stick with her left hand. This adjusts the blades in a certain way and up the helicopter goes. Positioned vertically between her knees is the cyclic stick. When she wants to go left she uses her right hand to tilt the cyclic stick to the left.