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SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/pilot-turn-radius-airspeed

If you hold the same bank angle and fly faster, what happens to the radius of the turn?

The radius gets bigger. A faster airplane needs more room to turn at the same bank.

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  1. It gets smaller
  2. It gets bigger ✔
  3. It stays exactly the same

Why: Radius of turn depends on bank angle and airspeed. At a constant bank, more speed means the airplane travels a longer arc, so the turn is wider and the rate of turn is slower.

Huh, didn't know that: The PHAK gives rate of turn as 1,091 times the tangent of bank angle, divided by true airspeed in knots.

The dad joke
Why do fast airplanes make wide turns? They need their personal space.
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References

Answer: It gets bigger. Radius of turn depends on bank angle and airspeed. At a constant bank, more speed means the airplane travels a longer arc, so the turn is wider and the rate of turn is slower.

  1. Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge FAA-H-8083-25C, Chapter 5 Aerodynamics of Flight www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/07_phak_ch5.pdf
    If the bank angle is held constant and the airspeed is increased, the radius of the turn changes (increases).
    Checked 2026-10-09.

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