nose and tail of the aircraft track along the same path. If no  rudder is used in a turn, the nose of the aircraft yaws to the  outside of the turn. The rudder is used rolling into the turn  to bring the nose back in line with the relative wind. Once  in the turn, the rudder should not be needed.  decreased, or the angle of bank increased, if a constant  altitude is to be maintained. If the angle of bank is held  constant and the AOA decreased, the ROT decreases. In order  to maintain a constant ROT as the airspeed is increased, the  AOA must remain constant and the angle of bank increased.  An aircraft is not steered like a boat or an automobile. In  order for an aircraft to turn, it must be banked. If it is not  banked, there is no force available to cause it to deviate  from a straight flight path. Conversely, when an aircraft is  banked, it turns provided it is not slipping to the inside of the  turn. Good directional control is based on the fact that the  aircraft attempts to turn whenever it is banked. Pilots should  keep this fact in mind when attempting to hold the aircraft  in straight-and-level flight.  An increase in airspeed results in an increase of the turn radius,  and centrifugal force is directly proportional to the radius of  the turn. In a correctly executed turn, the horizontal component  of lift must be exactly equal and opposite to the centrifugal  force. As the airspeed is increased in a constant-rate level turn,  the radius of the turn increases. This increase in the radius of  turn causes an increase in the centrifugal force, which must  be balanced by an increase in the horizontal component of lift,  which can only be increased by increasing the angle of bank.  Merely banking the aircraft into a turn produces no change in  the total amount of lift developed. Since the lift during the bank  is divided into vertical and horizontal components, the amount  of lift opposing gravity and supporting the aircraft’s weight  is reduced. Consequently, the aircraft loses altitude unless  additional lift is created. This is done by increasing the AOA  until the vertical component of lift is again equal to the weight.  Since the vertical component of lift decreases as the bank  angle increases, the AOA must be progressively increased  to produce sufficient vertical lift to support the aircraft’s  weight. An important fact for pilots to remember when making  constant altitude turns is that the vertical component of lift  must be equal to the weight to maintain altitude.  At a given airspeed, the rate at which an aircraft turns  depends upon the magnitude of the horizontal component  of lift. It is found that the horizontal component of lift is  proportional to the angle of bank—that is, it increases or  decreases respectively as the angle of bank increases or  decreases. As the angle of bank is increased, the horizontal  component of lift increases, thereby increasing the rate of  turn (ROT). Consequently, at any given airspeed, the ROT  can be controlled by adjusting the angle of bank.  To provide a vertical component of lift sufficient to hold  altitude in a level turn, an increase in the AOA is required.  Since the drag of the airfoil is directly proportional to its AOA,  induced drag increases as the lift is increased. This, in turn,  causes a loss of airspeed in proportion to the angle of bank.  A small angle of bank results in a small reduction in airspeed  while a large angle of bank results in a large reduction in  airspeed. Additional thrust (power) must be applied to prevent  a reduction in airspeed in level turns. The required amount of  additional thrust is proportional to the angle of bank.  To compensate for added lift, which would result if the  airspeed were increased during a turn, the AOA must be  For all practical purposes, the wing’s lift in a steady state  normal climb is the same as it is in a steady level flight at the  same airspeed. Although the aircraft’s flight path changed  when the climb was established, the AOA of the wing with  respect to the inclined flight path reverts to practically the  same values, as does the lift. There is an initial momentary  change as shown in  Figure 5-36.  During the transition from  straight-and-level flight to a climb, a change in lift occurs  when back elevator pressure is first applied. Raising the  aircraft’s nose increases the AOA and momentarily increases  To maintain a given ROT, the angle of bank must be varied  with the airspeed. This becomes particularly important in  high-speed aircraft. For instance, at 400 miles per hour (mph),  an aircraft must be banked approximately 44° to execute a  standard-rate turn (3° per second). At this angle of bank,  only about 79 percent of the lift of the aircraft comprises the  vertical component of the lift. This causes a loss of altitude  unless the AOA is increased sufficiently to compensate for  the loss of vertical lift.  A skidding turn results from an excess of centrifugal force  over the horizontal lift component, pulling the aircraft  toward the outside of the turn. The ROT is too great for the  angle of bank. Correction of a skidding turn thus involves a  reduction in the ROT, an increase in bank, or a combination  of the two changes.  In a slipping turn, the aircraft is not turning at the rate  appropriate to the bank being used, since the aircraft is yawed  toward the outside of the turning flight path. The aircraft is  banked too much for the ROT, so the horizontal lift component  is greater than the centrifugal force.  [Figure 5-35]  Equilibrium  between the horizontal lift component and centrifugal force  is reestablished by either decreasing the bank, increasing the  ROT, or a combination of the two changes.  5-23  Forces in Climbs 