The greater the centrifugal force, the ___ the load on the aircraft during a turn?

• A. Lighter
• B. Heavier
• C. Constant
• D. Zero

Answer: (C)

In a turn, the wing must do two jobs at once: support the airplane’s weight and provide the centripetal force to change direction. The lift vector is tilted by the bank angle, so its vertical component must balance weight and its horizontal component provides the turning force. Mathematically, L cos(bank) = W and L sin(bank) = m v^2 / r, which together give L = W / cos(bank). As the bank angle increases (or the centrifugal demand rises with higher speed or tighter turn), cos(bank) decreases, so the total lift L must increase. That means the load on the wings—the load factor L/W—gets larger, i.e., the airplane feels a heavier load. The centrifugal effect is an outward tendency in the turning frame, but the necessary lift to balance weight and supply centripetal force rises with the turn, not stays the same or goes to zero.