Load Factor Calculator

Why banked turns feel heavier

To maintain level flight while banked, a wing must generate more total lift than the aircraft's weight alone requires, since part of that lift is now directed sideways to turn the aircraft rather than purely upward. Pilots and structure feel this extra lift as increased apparent weight, called load factor.

Worked example

For a 60-degree bank angle:

n = 1 / cos(60°) = 2.0 g

Bank Angle	Load Factor
30 degrees	1.15 g
45 degrees	1.41 g
60 degrees	2.0 g
75 degrees	3.86 g

Load factor rises very sharply as bank angle approaches 90 degrees - this is why a 60-degree bank (exactly 2g) is a standard steep-turn training maneuver, while banks beyond 75-80 degrees demand rapidly increasing lift that most aircraft cannot sustain without stalling or exceeding structural limits.