Airplanes And Aerodynamics Commercial Pilot Practice Test

During a level turn, if airspeed increases, what action is necessary to maintain altitude?

Increase bank angle Decrease angle of attack Maintain current Increase angle of attack

Correct Answer:

Decrease angle of attack

Explanation:

In a level turn, lift must balance the weight. When airspeed increases, the lift tends to rise because dynamic pressure is higher for the same angle of attack. To keep the airplane at the same altitude, you need to reduce lift back to the level required for the current bank angle. The straightforward way to do that is to decrease the angle of attack, which lowers the lift coefficient and brings the total lift back to what’s needed to balance weight. If you instead kept the same angle of attack or increased it, lift would stay high or rise further, causing the airplane to climb rather than stay level. Increasing bank angle would change the required lift (and the turn dynamics) but isn’t the direct method to maintain altitude when speed has increased.

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