About the Aircraft Turn Rate Calculator
Estimate the rate of a coordinated level aircraft turn from airspeed and bank angle. This tool is useful for pilots, students, instructors, and aviation enthusiasts who want quick awareness of turn rate, turn radius, load factor, and time for common heading changes.
How to use this calculator
- Enter the aircraft airspeed and choose its unit: knots, mph, km/h, m/s, or ft/s.
- Enter the bank angle in degrees, greater than 0 and less than 90.
- Select the unit you want for the turn radius display.
- Click Calculate turn rate to show the turn rate, radius, 180° and 360° times, load factor, and standard-rate comparison.
- Use Reset to return to the default 120 knots and 25° bank values.
How it works
The calculator first converts the entered airspeed to meters per second. It then converts the bank angle from degrees to radians and uses standard gravity, 9.80665 m/s², for the coordinated level-turn equations.
Turn rate is calculated as gravity times the tangent of the bank angle divided by speed, then converted from radians per second to degrees per second. Turn radius is calculated as speed squared divided by gravity times the tangent of the bank angle, then converted to the selected display unit.
The calculator also estimates load factor as 1 divided by the cosine of the bank angle. The 180° and 360° turn times are found by dividing 180 or 360 by the computed turn rate, and the “bank for 3°/sec” value is the bank angle needed for a standard-rate turn at the entered speed.
These results assume a coordinated, constant-altitude turn with no wind correction and standard gravity. They are educational estimates for awareness only and are not a substitute for aircraft limitations, approved procedures, instructor guidance, or POH/AFM data.
Example calculation
Using the default values of 120 knots and a 25° bank, the speed is converted to about 61.7 m/s. The turn rate is g × tan(25°) ÷ 61.7, converted to degrees per second, which gives about 4.25°/sec. The same inputs give a turn radius of about 2,680 ft, a 180° turn time of about 42 seconds, a 360° turn time of about 85 seconds, and a load factor of about 1.10 g.
Frequently asked questions
Should I use indicated airspeed or true airspeed?
True airspeed gives the best physical result because turn radius and rate depend on actual speed through the air. Indicated airspeed can be a practical approximation at low altitude.
What is a standard-rate turn?
A standard-rate turn is approximately 3 degrees per second, completing a 360° turn in about 2 minutes. The calculator labels results near 3°/sec as near standard rate.
Why does higher speed increase turn radius?
At the same bank angle, radius increases with the square of speed, so faster aircraft need much more space to make the same coordinated turn.
Why does a steeper bank increase turn rate?
A steeper bank increases the horizontal component of lift, which increases turning acceleration. In the formula, this is represented by the tangent of the bank angle.
Does wind affect the calculated turn rate?
Wind does not change the aircraft’s air-relative coordinated turn rate, but it does affect the ground track and ground radius. This calculator does not model wind drift.