What increases as the bank angle increases and the horizontal lift component increases?

• A. Rate of turn
• B. Drag
• C. AOA
• D. Weight

Answer: (A)

When you bank an airplane in level flight, the lift vector tilts, so more of lift lies in the horizontal direction. To keep from losing altitude, the total lift must increase as the bank angle grows. That larger horizontal lift component provides the centripetal force needed to bend the flight path into a turn. The turn rate, which is how fast you complete the circle (angular rate), rises with bank angle because the required centripetal acceleration grows with the horizontal lift component and is described by a relation like turn rate = g tan(bank) / true airspeed. So as the bank angle increases and the horizontal lift component increases, the rate of turn increases. Weight stays the same in a coordinated level turn, and while drag and angle of attack can also change, the direct, monotonic increase tied to bank angle and horizontal lift is the rate of turn.