Bob Chilcoat wrote:
A friend (non pilot) was coming back into Newark (commercial) the
other night when they got a hold due to weather over the field. He
said things were pretty normal until they suddenly banked "way over"
and everyone was concerned because they were all pushed into their
seats. The captain came on the intercom and apologized, explaining
that in order to stay in their holding pattern without flying into a
thunderstorm, he'd had to make a steeper than usual, not to worry,
aircraft are designed for that, etc., but that it was likely to
happen again shortly. Sure enough, the captain came on again, this
time to warn everyone, and they again did the steep turn. After that
they landed without further incident.
My friend was asking about the turn. He said that it seemed really
steep. I explained that if the turn had been a 45-degree bank, they
would have needed 1.4 g to maintain altitude, and 2 g if they'd
banked to 60 degrees. He then asked why, as a very seasoned
passenger, he'd never noticed such a thing before. Anyone know what
the maximum bank angle most airlines try to maintain? Just curious.

A normal turn is limited to 30° bank. Anything more than that could be
called a steep turn. A "steep turn" as a maneuver uses 45° of bank. Most
autopilots will not command more than 30° of bank.

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Darrell R. Schmidt
B-58 Hustler History: http://members.cox.net/dschmidt1/
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