A higher useful load increases the overall weight of the aircraft, which can lead to increased inertia. This affects the helicopter's responsiveness to cyclic inputs, making manoeuvres feel heavier and requiring more effort from the Pilot to achieve the desired attitudes and movements. In general, the greater the mass, the greater the inertia.

Large helicopters have heavier blades to produce the required lift to support the increased mass. The high inertia blades result in a gentler N_R decay. A relatively massive rotor decelerates slower. Greater inertia leads to N_R being more sensitive to small changes of pitch and especially to any g in turns. N_R must, therefore, be monitored closely to avoid exceeding the limits.

The worst case scenario is engine failure in a light helicopter with a relatively light rotor, whilst large amounts of collective are applied. A light helicopter requires the quickest response in case of engine failure by reducing the collective pitch sufficiently quickly to avoid a significant decay in N_R and by responding quickly with the yaw pedals to cancel the yaw.