Thread: Turn dynamics
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Old September 28th 06, 07:48 PM posted to rec.aviation.piloting
Julian Scarfe
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Default Turn dynamics

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5th question: Further to question 4, suppose that I am already at full
throttle, unable to increase thrust, and wish to maintain altitude.
The only remaining variable that I can change is airspeed via yoke
position, by pulling or pushing. Would you agree that I would have to
push on the yoke to maintain altitude if I was on the backside of the
2g power curve and pull on the yoke to maintain altitude if I was on
the front side of 2g power curve? Does it seem counterintuitive to
push on the yoke to maintain altitude in a turn?


It's pretty much always counterintuitive to push on the yoke to maintain
altitude. The power curve is the power curve, and while the numbers might
change when you change the load factor, the nature of it doesn't.

For any power curve, if your power available exceeds the minimum power
required, you have the opportunity to maintain altitude or climb. If your
power available does not exceed the minimum power required, you're going
down, whether you push or pull.

Normally, we approach the minimum power required from the higher airspeed
side. You have to do something slightly unusual to get to steady state on
the backside of the power curve, e.g. take power off and then put it back on
again, or zoom up a little to allow the airspeed to fall.

It's the same in a turn. As you pull back to maintain your altuitude in the
turn, your speed bleeds off. If you just allow the speed to bleed off while
maintaining altitude, you'll either reach a point on the normal side of the
power curve where you can maintain speed and altitude, or you'll find you
reach minimum power required and you still can't maintain altitude, in which
case you'll be going down, whatever you do. To get into equilibrium on the
backside of the power curve, you'd have to do something "unusual", more than
just pulling back to maintain altitude. I suppose it's slightly more likely
that you might do that in a steep turn, when you've exceeded the performance
of the aircraft at your chosen bank angle and power setting, the airspeed
has dropped below minimum power required, and you think "Doh, better put
some power on now".

Julian