Today started with a quick ground school lesson on steep turns. For the PPL, a steep turn is defined as a 45° angle of bank. You have to be able to demonstrate steep turns without losing or gaining excessive altitude to pass the PPL checkride.
We went up in the plane and practiced some of these. I think I did pretty well — especially considering it is a much different sight picture than I am used to. I did lose altitude on a few of them, but towards the end of the lesson I felt like I was getting the hang of them.
One interesting thing about steep turns — the G-forces you feel are pretty intense. You really feel yourself being pushed into your seat and you can get bit lightheaded performing them.
My CFI demonstrated a 60° angle of bank turn to show me what those G-forces felt like. It reminded me a bit of a roller coaster — definitely something to be aware of as I progress through my training! As he performed the turn, I tried to lift my hand in the air — it was pretty difficult! I can only imagine being in a fast spin, disoriented, feeling several G’s of force pressing on you, and trying to execute the right control sequence to recover the airplane (assuming you stay conscious long enough). It’s obviously much better to avoid getting yourself into a situation like that in the first place!
In normal flight, you should never have to perform a 45° turn (much less a 60° turn), but I’ll need to perform these during my checkride. I’ll definitely need to practice them some more, but all in all I think I handled the plane fairly well today.
Flight time today: 1.1 hours
Total flight time to date: 7.9 hours
Total takeoffs to date: 2