Who he is

Helicopter Man pilots a single-person helicopter with a rotor and a magnet attachment. He is one of the two characters in the roster with real flight, and the only one whose vehicle is fundamentally a machine rather than a vehicle you sit on.

What he can do

Two systems, not one:

  1. The rotor provides lift and keeps him airborne.
  2. The magnet attaches to and carries objects — including, per the achievement description, his own body once he has ejected.

That second system is what makes him unique. He is the only character who can pick something up and move it.

The Autopilot achievement

Autopilot — Carry Yourself With Your Own Magnet requires the magnet to support your own character. The community achievement notes describe two ways this can happen: either a limb is carried by the activated magnet, or you eject and the magnet carries your body.

It is one of the more unusual unlocks in the game, because it asks you to use a traversal tool on yourself.

Strengths

  • Flight. Vertical levels become a different problem entirely.
  • The magnet. No other character can move objects around.
  • Heavy and stable in the air, relative to how he looks.

Weaknesses

  • Hard to control precisely. Lift without fine steering is not the same as useful flight.
  • Two systems to manage. Rotor plus magnet is more to think about than any other character.
  • Ground handling is poor. He is not a good fit for ordinary platforming.
  • Level dependent. Levels built for wheeled characters are awkward for him.

How to actually play him

  1. Get airborne early. His weaknesses are all ground weaknesses.
  2. Learn the magnet separately from the rotor. Trying to use both at once while learning is how runs fail.
  3. Use the magnet to solve puzzles, not to move fast. It is a tool for reaching and retrieving, not for travel.
  4. Practice the Autopilot setup somewhere safe. A short, empty community level is the right place for it.

Achievements connected to him

  • Success in the Face of Turbulence — beat three featured levels with Helicopter Guy.
  • Autopilot — carry yourself with your own magnet.

Full list on the achievements page.