When a pilot performs a steady horizontal turn, the stall speed:

Study for the ATPL Intensive Program Exam. Use multiple choice questions and flashcards, each with hints and explanations. Master your exam preparation and succeed!

In a steady horizontal turn, the stall speed of an aircraft is indeed influenced by the load factor, which increases as the bank angle increases during the turn. The load factor is the ratio of the aerodynamic lift to the weight of the aircraft, and it effectively increases the aircraft's weight in terms of lift requirements.

As the bank angle increases, the load factor also increases, and consequently, the stall speed rises. This is because the stall speed is directly related to the square root of the load factor. The relationship can be expressed mathematically: stall speed increases as the square root of the load factor. Therefore, if the load factor is, for example, two times the normal weight of the aircraft, the stall speed will increase by a factor of the square root of 2; this means the stall speed would not just double, but would increase to about 1.414 times the original stall speed.

Understanding this relationship is critical for pilots as it underlines the importance of managing bank angles during flight maneuvers, especially in turns, to avoid entering a stall condition at higher speeds than normally experienced in straight-and-level flight.

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