Flight Training - November/December 2023 - 41

a flat turn by holding aileron against firmly applied
rudder, thereby skidding our way through a curved
path. As a practical matter, though, airplanes and
passengers much prefer coordinated flight, with bank
as the primary ingredient and rudder used to maintain
coordinated flight.
The act of rolling into a bank requires a bit of persuasion,
because the airplane is designed to maintain
straight flight. Its tail acts like the feather of an arrow,
resisting minor disturbances, and the displacement of
the ailerons at the wing tips creates a yaw input that's
opposite to the desired direction of the turn, called
adverse yaw. Modern aileron designs and slow control
movements may allow us to ignore compensating for
this resistance, if we choose to do that, but the turn's
entry-and subsequent recovery-will be a sloppy
procedure.
It's far better to tap some rudder pedal as the turn
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begins, along with aileron, which brings in a little preturn
yaw to offset the adverse yaw of aileron movement
and breaks the airplane out of its insistence on straight
flight. Airplanes of many years ago needed lots of
rudder to initiate turns. In our case, modern differential
ailerons only require a little coordinated rudder to produce
a smooth roll-in and rollout. We have but to watch
the slip ball to get a grade; it should remain essentially
unmoved as we go in and out of turns. Passengers will
likewise remain undisturbed in their seats.
In level flight, our wings primarily produce vertical
lift. Once the turn is underway that lift vector
changes, and we produce both vertical and horizontal
lift. Because we are now making less than the necessary
amount of vertical lift to overcome our weight,
our altitude will begin to drop unless we add a little
more, obtained only by increasing angle of attack by
pulling back on the stick or yoke or speeding up. Thus,
every turn entry and recovery require the use of three
controls: ailerons, rudder, and elevator. Unlike an automobile,
the wheel or stick is returned to neutral after
the turn is begun, along with the rudder pedals; only
the elevator pressure is maintained throughout. The
elevator is " lifting " the airplane around the turn.
It is important to hold a steady bank angle during
the turn if you want to maintain a constant altitude or,
in the case of climbing and gliding turns, the correct
airspeed. Allowing the bank angle to shallow produces
a climb and letting it steepen tends to create a descent,
in the absence of changing elevator pressure. If you
want the turn to remain level, keep the bank immobile.
TURNS, GREAT AND SMALL
The typical bank angle chosen for " medium turns " is
about 30 degrees, mild enough to avoid challenges to
skill but effective enough to bring the airplane around
quickly. Once medium-bank turns are mastered, we will
proceed to steeper turns as a skill-building maneuver.
At 45 degrees of bank, the pilot is required to add considerable
up-elevator to keep altitude steady, nudging
in a bit of throttle to keep a fixed-pitch propeller's rpm
from dragging down and airspeed from deteriorating.
Steep turns begin to manifest an overbanking tendency;
rather than holding at a stable bank angle, the bank
would really like to increase itself. A small increment of
" outside " aileron pressure may be required to keep the
bank steady.
Don't fixate on the panel's attitude indicator for a
perfect turn. Instead, use the natural attitude indication
of the horizon in the windshield. Learn where the
nose of the aircraft is pointed in relation to the horizon
during a left or right turn and keep it fixed in that
attitude. Use the altitude and bank indications only as
confirmation that your basic outside references are correct.
After all, outside is where the other airplanes are,
which is why you're clearing the airspace you're going
to occupy before you begin a turn. Even while practicing,
have your eyes outside 80 percent of the time.
Instrument pilots, brooding introverts that they
are, avoid trouble in the clouds by doing only " standard
rate " turns that move the heading at a sedate 3 degrees
per second. Most training airplanes achieve this rate of
turn at about 15 degrees of bank; faster airplanes will
need 20 or 25 degrees of bank. But we generally limit
instrument turns to 30-degree maximum bank angles,
regardless of speed. VFR pilots will use these benign
bank turns during climbs, to allow most of the engine's
power to go into producing climb, and in slow flight
turns, where there's a stall lurking a few knots away.
As a general rule, coordinated level turns in slow
flight can be made at bank angles up to 30 degrees
without worry about the stall speed increase from
added G-load. If you inadvertently let the bank get
too steep at slow speed, just drop the nose and unload
the wing while rolling out. Trading a little altitude for
speed is better than stalling during the turn.
Gliding turns, like climbing turns, require attention
to airspeed control, rather than maintaining altitude.
To hold a steady best-glide speed, back-pressure is
added to the elevator control after the turn is begun,
proportionate to the amount of bank used, and released
as you roll out of the turn.
Rolling out of the turn requires a little anticipation
as the heading indicator moves through the numbers.
We don't want to snap the passengers' necks by instantly
banging into straight flight, so let's begin the rollout
about 5 degrees prior to our chosen heading, remembering
to squeeze in a little rudder with the aileron.
Be careful, now that you know what the rudder is for;
your legs are at least twice as powerful as your arms,
so use small displacements. Don't forget to release the
back-pressure you're holding as the wings become level,
lest the airplane jump 25 feet during the rollout.
Make every turn the best you ever did. It won't take
long to see them become smoother and more precise
without even trying. Your future passengers may not
ever notice, but you will. FT
LeRoy Cook is an airline transport pilot, instructor, and
frequent contributor to AOPA publications.
FLIGHT TRAINING NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023
FLIGHT TRAINING JULY 2023
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Flight Training - November/December 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - November/December 2023
