Steep Turns

• Bank approximately 50° — a step up from the private's 45° (CA.V.A.S3)
• Altitude ±100 feet from entry
• Airspeed ±10 knots
• Bank ±5°
• Roll out on the entry heading ±10°
• A 360° turn, then the same thing in the opposite direction (CA.V.A.S4)

Tolerances per FAA-S-ACS-7B, Task V.A.

The manufacturer's recommended airspeed; if the POH doesn't publish one, an airspeed not to exceed maneuvering speed (VA) (CA.V.A.S2). Where the manufacturer publishes an operating maneuvering speed, use VO instead — the ACS skill element names only VA, but the AFH frames the limit as "VA or VO, as applicable" (AFH 10-2). At or below VA the wing stalls before the airframe reaches its limit load, so an abrupt pull can't overstress you (PHAK 5-37). The AFH says the same thing for steep turns specifically: because of the higher load factors, they're flown at or below VA/VO (AFH 10-2).

The published anchors are 1.41 G at 45° and 2.0 G at 60° in a level turn (AFH 10-2) — 50° sits between them. The load factor for a given bank in a level turn is the same regardless of airspeed or airplane (AFH 10-2), and it climbs dramatically past 60°: a level 75° turn exceeds the 3.8 G limit load of a normal-category airplane (AFH 10-2).

Stall speed increases with the square root of the load factor (AFH 10-2). The handbook's worked case: an airplane that stalls at 50 knots level stalls at 60 knots in a 45° level turn and 70 knots at 60° (AFH 10-2). At 50° you're between those — which is exactly why the margin between stall speed and VA shrinks as you steepen the bank (AFH 10-2).

Overbanking tendency is the tendency to keep rolling into the turn unless you hold deliberate opposite aileron once the bank steepens (AFH 10-2). In shallow banks the airplane is positively or neutrally stable about the longitudinal axis; that stability erodes as the bank steepens because of the speed differential across the span — the outside wing travels a longer arc, flies faster, and makes more lift. Fix it with top aileron held throughout — not with rudder.

Lead by half the bank angle. The AFH's example: a right steep turn started on 270° at 60° of bank begins rolling out 30° early, at a heading of 240° (AFH 10-3). At 50° of bank that's a 25° lead. As you roll out, gradually reduce back pressure, trim (if used), and power to hold altitude and airspeed (AFH 10-3).

Reduce the bank first, with coordinated opposite aileron and rudder, then raise the pitch attitude with back pressure (AFH 10-2). Pulling on the elevator alone at a steep bank steepens the bank further and puts unnecessary stress on the airframe — the pull mostly tightens the turn instead of raising the nose (AFH 10-2).

Outside. A pilot who references only the nose relative to the horizon has trouble holding altitude; watching both the nose and the wings against the horizon is what keeps you inside standards (AFH 10-2). Instruments get quick confirming glances. Two of the AFH's listed common errors are performing the maneuver by reference to the flight instruments and failing to scan for traffic (AFH 10-3).

At a given airspeed, steepening the bank increases the rate of turn (more horizontal lift component); at a given bank angle, a higher true airspeed makes the radius larger, because inertia is greater and the airplane turns at a slower rate (AFH 3-14). Practically, max turning performance for a given speed comes from a high bank angle (AFH 10-2), and the limiting load factor sets the steepest bank you can hold level without stalling or overstressing (AFH 10-2).

No — the certification testing standards do not specify trim requirements for a steep turn (AFH 10-2). Whether you trim depends on the airplane, the speed of the trim system, and instructor/applicant preference. If you do use nose-up trim, the AFH's warning is the one that bites applicants: remove both the trim and the power as you complete the maneuver, or the airplane balloons on rollout (AFH 10-2).

Only Task A, Steep Turns (ACS Appendix 3, Area V). Steep spiral, chandelles, lazy eights, and eights on pylons are ASEL/ASES tasks. For an initial commercial ASEL or ASES applicant the evaluator must select Task A or B; Task C or D; and Task E (ACS Appendix 3, Area V).

Because everything scales nonlinearly with bank:

• Load factor rises from 1.41 G at 45° toward 2.0 G at 60° (AFH 10-2) — you're carrying more of the increase per degree the steeper you get.
• Stall speed rises as the square root of load factor (AFH 10-2), so the margin above stall shrinks while the margin below VA also shrinks (AFH 10-2).
• Overbanking tendency strengthens, so the aileron pressure you hold is larger and more constant (AFH 10-2).
• Elevator force is described by the AFH as "considerable" once the selected bank is reached (AFH 10-2).

More AOA means more induced drag, so airspeed decays unless you add power. To hold altitude in a level turn you increase AOA so the vertical component of lift still equals weight (AFH 10-2). The AFH sequences it: as the bank is established, generally prior to 30° of bank, smoothly apply elevator back pressure and add power (AFH 10-2). Adding power late is the classic cause of a 10-knot airspeed bust.

Rolling in and out, adverse yaw pulls the nose opposite the roll — coordinate every roll with rudder in the direction of the roll. Once established, the AFH notes something applicants find genuinely disorienting: a significant component of yaw is experienced as motion away from and toward the earth's surface at steep bank, because the yaw axis is now tipped toward the vertical (AFH 10-2). You also still have to manage the left-turning tendencies such as P-factor, which demand effective rudder/aileron coordination (AFH 10-2).

Any stall where the G-load exceeds +1G is an accelerated maneuver stall, and the AFH says it's most often encountered inadvertently during improperly executed turns, pullouts from steep dives, or overshooting the base-to-final turn — it's "typically demonstrated during steep turns" (AFH 5-19). Here it would come from trying to fix an altitude loss by pulling harder: load factor rises and stall speed rises with the square root of it (AFH 10-2), so an airplane that stalls at 50 knots wings-level is already stalling between 60 and 70 knots at these bank angles (AFH 10-2). Recovery: reduce AOA first, then level the wings with coordinated rudder. Know the AFM's published 45°-bank, flaps-up stall speed before you go fly it (AFH 5-19).

• Clear the area before starting — the first skill element in the task (CA.V.A.S1) and the first common error in the handbook (AFH 10-3).
• Pick distant references on the horizon so you can judge when to begin the rollout (AFH 10-2) — that's your defense against disorientation.
• Keep scanning for traffic during the turn; a 360° turn sweeps you through airspace you cleared about half a minute ago (AFH 10-3).
• Manage the low-altitude hazard by choosing an entry altitude with room for a stall or spiral recovery, and treat any excursion as a reason to unload and level, not to chase the numbers.

Yes. The AFH is explicit that you need to know VA or VO "and how it changes depending on the airplane's weight" (AFH 5-19). VA is published at maximum gross weight and is lower at lighter weights, because a lighter wing reaches its limit load factor at a lower speed. The POH is the authority — many publish VA at two or three weights.

Note the distinction the handbook draws: VA is the maximum speed at which the positive design load limit can be imposed by a gust or full one-sided deflection of a single control without structural damage; VO is an operating limitation, applicable to certain airplanes only, that gives the maximum speed at which full control excursion at a given weight stays inside the design limit load factor (AFH 5-19).