Bank angle, load factor, turn rate and turn time for a level turn from speed and turn radius.
Level, coordinated turn at constant speed. The bank angle comes from balancing lift against the centripetal force of the turn.
Bank angle
How to use this tool
Type the true airspeed in metres per second (divide km/h by 3.6, or knots by 1.944).
Type the radius of the turn in metres.
The headline result is the bank angle needed for a level, coordinated turn.
Steeper banks raise the load factor — at 60° the wing carries 2 g — and tighten the turn rate.
Formula & worked example
At 100 m/s in a 1,000 m radius turn, tan φ = 10,000 / 9,810 ≈ 1.019, so the bank angle is about 45.5°, the load factor about 1.43 g, and the turn rate about 5.7 °/s.
Limitations — read this before you rely on it
This assumes a level, coordinated turn at constant speed with no wind. Descending or climbing turns, slipping or skidding turns, and wind all change the real bank angle.
Frequently asked questions
Banking tilts the lift vector sideways, and that sideways component provides the centripetal force that curves the flight path.
How many times the aircraft weight the wings must support. It is 1/cos φ, so 60° of bank means 2 g and the stall speed rises by √2.
A turn at 3 °/s, completing 360° in two minutes — the standard for instrument flying.
No — for a given speed and radius, bank angle is independent of weight. Heavier aircraft need more lift, but the angle stays the same.
Convert first: 1 knot = 0.5144 m/s, so divide knots by 1.944 to get m/s.