Turn performance and load factor
Bank angle, rate of turn, turn radius, load factor, and stall speed in the turn, from true airspeed and a bank angle or turn rate (standard rate by default).
Planning and education aid. Not for primary navigation. Full disclaimer
Experimental: not yet fully verified. How results are checked
Bank 15.36° for 3 °/s at 100 kt. The turn radius is 3,223 ft and the load factor is 1.04 g.
- Turn rate
- True airspeed
- Turn radius
- Load factor
- Time for the heading change
- KTAS/10 + 7 rule
Provenance
- Computed by
- aviation.performance.turn 1.0.0, core 0.1.0
- Model
- Coordinated level turn: r = V²/(g0·tan φ), ω = g0·tan φ/V, n = 1/cos φ. In feet and knots r = V²/(11.294·tan φ), from g0 = 9.80665 m/s² (the textbook 11.26 is a rounded variant).
- Accuracy
- Exact for a coordinated, level turn at constant true airspeed. Planning aid, not certified for navigation.
- Notes
- 1 shown with the answer
- Cites
- Federal Aviation Administration, Airplane Flying Handbook, FAA-H-8083-3C; Federal Aviation Administration, Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, FAA-H-8083-25C
Something look off?
How we got thisFormula, worked example, sources, and proof
Model: Coordinated level turn: r = V²/(g0·tan φ), ω = g0·tan φ/V, n = 1/cos φ. In feet and knots r = V²/(11.294·tan φ), from g0 = 9.80665 m/s² (the textbook 11.26 is a rounded variant).
Accuracy: Exact for a coordinated, level turn at constant true airspeed. Planning aid, not certified for navigation.
Worked example: A standard-rate turn at 100 KTAS. Source: add-aviation-suite turn scenario: bank 15.36°, rule of thumb 17°. It is golden test vector v001, and every build checks the tool still gives its answer within its tolerance.
You enter
- True airspeed
- 100 kt
You get
- Bank angle
- 15.36°
- Turn rate
- 3 °/s
- True airspeed
- 100 kt
- Turn radius
- 3,223 ft
- Load factor
- 1.04
- Time for the heading change
- 120 s
- KTAS/10 + 7 rule
- 17°
- Rule error
- 1.6°
Review: Not yet independently reviewed by a flight instructor (CFI).
Last verified: 2026-09-18, when a maintainer last confirmed this tool's sources at the issuer. See the sources ledger.
Status: version 1.0.0, core 0.1.0. See this tool in the verification report.
Checked against: 6 golden test vectors (download the test vectors, each with its source and tolerance). See how results are checked and every source.
Sources
- Airplane Flying Handbook, FAA-H-8083-3C, Federal Aviation Administration, FAA-H-8083-3C. Chapter 3 (turns and load factor), Chapter 6 (ground reference maneuvers, pivotal altitude), and Chapter 18 (emergency glides).
- Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, FAA-H-8083-25C, Federal Aviation Administration, FAA-H-8083-25C. Aircraft Performance and Navigation chapters (pressure and density altitude, wind triangle).
Terms
- KTAS: knots true airspeed
- True airspeed stated in knots. Source: Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge
Experimental means this tool has not yet met the stable bar: at least 20 golden vectors, differential tests, and an independent worked example.