Load Factors in Steep Turns

In a constant altitude, coordinated turn in any aircraft, the load factor is the result of two forces: centrifugal force and gravity. [Figure 4-44] varies with the airspeed—the higher the speed, the slower the ROT. This compensates for added centrifugal force, allowing the load factor to remain the same.

Figure 4-45 factor increases at a terrific rate after a bank has reached 45° or 50°. The load factor for any aircraft in a 60° bank is 2 Gs. The load factor in an 80° bank is 5.76 Gs. The wing must produce lift equal to these load factors if altitude is to be maintained.It should be noted how rapidly the line denoting load factor rises as it approaches the 90° bank line, which it never quite reaches because a 90° banked, constant altitude turn is not mathematically possible. An aircraft may be banked to 90°, but not in a coordinated turn. An aircraft which can be held in a 90° banked slipping turn is capable of straight knife-edged flight. At slightly more than 80°, the load factor exceeds the limit of 6 Gs, the limit load factor of an acrobatic aircraft.

For a coordinated, constant altitude turn, the approximate maximum bank for the average general aviation aircraft is 60°. This bank and its resultant necessary power setting reach the limit of this type of aircraft. An additional 10° bank increases the load factor by approximately 1 G, bringing it close to the yield point established for these aircraft. [Figure 4-46]]