Rate Turns (RT)

CHAPTER THREE

T-34C INSTRUMENTS

303.

CONSTANT ANGLE OF BANK TURNS (CABT)

All considerations for turning flight in the Instrument Stage are the same as in Contact

Stage.

Establish an AOB on the attitude gyro and maintain that AOB throughout the turn.

Crosscheck the nose position with the altimeter and VSI. Corrections to maintain altitude are

made in the same manner as in straight and level flight.

To prevent turning beyond the desired heading, it is necessary to anticipate or lead the new

heading. A reasonably accurate rule of thumb is to lead this new heading by the number of

degrees equal to onethird the AOB used in making the turn. If, for example, the AOB is 30,

the rollout should be started 10 before reaching the desired heading.

In the example above, when you pass 10 prior to your specified heading, shift your scan

completely to the attitude gyro and roll out on the gyro. This rule will be used during all turns to

specified headings.

Common Errors

Overrotating the nose as the AOB is established, resulting in a climb. All pilots have

a tendency to pull back stick while rolling into a turn.

Looking away from the attitude gyro before the AOB is set, resulting in overbanking

as the wings continue to roll.

Failure to maintain a level flight scan as the turn progresses, allowing the nose to fall,

resulting in a loss of altitude.

Failure to roll out on the desired heading due to slow or improper scan (not looking at

the RMI for turn performance and not applying the "onethird rule").

Not rolling out on the gyro. The most common error is to watch the RMI during

rollout. Thus, the wings do not level and the nose is raised or lowered.

Rolling too fast. This prevents proper coordination between nose and wing attitudes.

304.

RATE TURNS (RT)

During normal IFR flight along airways, all turns will generally be done at a specified rate, either

standard or onehalf standardrate turns. The standardrate of turn is 3 per second. At 3 per

second, a turn of 180 will take one minute and a 360 turn will take two minutes. The figure on the

next page is a chart showing the AOB necessary to produce a 3 per second turn at various airspeeds

and altitudes. From the chart, you can see that an aircraft operating at high speeds requires a steep

AOB to produce a 3 per second turn. Steep turns are more difficult to fly than shallow turns, since

they result in heavy load factors; for example, a 60 bank turn applies a two "G" force to the aircraft

3-12 BASIC INSTRUMENTS FLIGHT PROCEDURES