Standard Rate Turn & Turn Radius Calculator

How it works

tan(bank) = V × ω ÷ g (V in m/s, ω in rad/s); radius = V² ÷ (g × tan bank); load factor = 1 ÷ cos bank; stall speed × √(load factor); rule of thumb: standard-rate bank ≈ TAS/10 + 7

A standard-rate turn — three degrees per second, a full circle in two minutes — is the reference for instrument flying and holding patterns, and the bank needed to achieve it grows with speed: a trainer at 100 knots banks about 17°, a jet at 250 knots would need 37°, which is why fast aircraft limit bank to 25–30° and accept a slower turn. The physics is the balance between the horizontal component of lift and the centripetal force the turn requires; from it fall the radius (which grows with the square of speed) and the load factor that raises stall speed by the square root of g. Pilots memorise the shortcut “airspeed divided by ten plus seven” for the standard-rate bank.

Worked example

At 110 knots true, a standard-rate turn needs about 16.8° of bank (rule of thumb 18°), has a radius of 0.58 nm, takes 60 seconds for 180° and loads the aircraft to 1.04 g — stall speed rises from 50 to 51 knots.

Frequently asked questions