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During a steep turn (45° or greater bank) at constant altitude, the load factor at 60° bank is

Choices

  • 1.0 G — same as straight-and-level.

    Wrong — bank requires extra lift, increasing load factor.

  • 1.5 G.

    1.5 G is approximately 48° bank.

  • 2.0 G — bank angle of 60° doubles the apparent weight on the airplane and the pilot.correct

    Load factor in level turn = 1 / cos(bank angle). At 60°: 1 / cos(60°) = 1 / 0.5 = 2.0 G. At 45°: ~1.41 G. At 75°: ~3.86 G. Stall speed scales as √(load factor), so at 60° bank Vs is ~1.41× the 1G value. Steep turns also significantly increase induced drag and require more power to maintain altitude.

  • 3.0 G.

    3 G is approximately 70° bank.

Why

Load factor in level turn = 1 / cos(bank angle). At 60°: 1 / cos(60°) = 1 / 0.5 = 2.0 G. At 45°: ~1.41 G. At 75°: ~3.86 G. Stall speed scales as √(load factor), so at 60° bank Vs is ~1.41× the 1G value. Steep turns also significantly increase induced drag and require more power to maintain altitude.

FAA source: PHAK Ch 5; PHAK Chapter 5 — Aerodynamics of Flightbrowse the reference library →

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Original study question written for this course — representative of FAA knowledge-test topics, not an actual current FAA exam question.

During a steep turn (45° or greater bank) at constant altitude, the l… · PPL Free Ground School