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  • Chapter 8: Flight Instruments › Gyroscopic Flight Instruments › Turn Coordinator

    Turn Coordinator The gimbal in the turn coordinator is canted; therefore, its gyro can sense both rate of roll and rate of turn. Since turn coordinators are more prevalent in training aircraft, this discussion concentrates on that instrument. When rolling ... into or out of a turn, the miniature aircraft banks in the direction the aircraft is rolled. A rapid roll rate causes the miniature aircraft to bank more steeply than a slow roll rate. The turn coordinator can be used…

  • Chapter 7: Ground Reference Maneuvers › Drift and Ground Track Control › Constant Radius During Turning Flight

    Figure 7-2. Effect of wind during a turn. For a given true airspeed, the radius of turn in the air varies proportionally with the bank angle. To maintain a constant radius over the ground, the bank angle used ... knots (for this discussion, assume true, calibrated, and indicated airspeed are all the same). If the pilot starts a turn using a 45° bank angle, the turn radius over the ground at that moment is approximately 890 feet…

  • Chapter 5: Aerodynamics of Flight › Aerodynamic Forces in Flight Maneuvers › Forces in Turns

    basic truth about turns is that when the aircraft banks, lift acts inward toward the center of the turn, perpendicular to the lateral axis as well as upward. Newton’s First Law of Motion, the Law of Inertia, states that ... acted on by some other force. An aircraft, like any moving object, requires a sideward force to make it turn. In a normal turn, this force is supplied by banking the aircraft so that lift is exerted inward, as well…

  • Chapter 3: Basic Flight Maneuvers › Level Turns › Turn Radius

    Turn Radius To understand the relationship between airspeed, bank, and radius of turn, it should be noted that the rate of turn at any given true airspeed depends on the horizontal lift component. The horizontal lift component varies in proportion ... amount of bank. Therefore, the rate of turn at a given airspeed increases as the angle of bank is increased. On the other hand, when a turn is made at a higher airspeed at a given bank angle, the inertia…

  • Chapter 10: Performance Maneuvers › Steep Turns

    Steep Turns Steep turns consist of single to multiple 360° and 720° turns, in either or both directions, using a bank angle between 45° and 60°. The objective of the steep turn is to develop a pilot’s skill ... constant need to scan for hazards and other traffic in the area. [Figure 10-1] Figure 10-1. Steep turns. While the fundamental concepts of all turns are the same, when steep turns are first demonstrated and performed, the pilot…

  • Chapter 7, Section I: Airplane Basic Flight Maneuvers › Turns › Timed Turns

    Timed Turns A timed turn is a turn in which the clock and the turn coordinator are used to change heading by a specific number of degrees in a given time. For example, in a standard rate turn (3 degrees ... second), an airplane turns 45° in 15 seconds; in a half standard rate turn, the airplane turns 45° in 30 seconds. Prior to performing timed turns, the turn coordinator should be calibrated to determine the accuracy of its indications. [Figure…