A light aeroplane is in steady, straight and level fight at a low subsonic speed, with no flaps. They enter a 30 degree angle of bank turn, with a load factor of 1.15. In order to maintain level flight during the turn, what must happen to the coefficient of lift, in comparison to straight and level flight?
This one is really easy, no need to calculate anything, just have decent understanding. The load factor = Lift/Weight and is also the amount of G-force the aircraft pulls. If the weight is 1 tonne then in straight and level flight, the wings need to produce 1 tonne of lift.
But if the pilot pulls 2Gs of force, then the wings are having to produce 2 tonnes of lift during that manoeuvre. If they pulled 3Gs (load factor = 3) then the wings would be required to produce 3 tonnes of lift, a nice simple proportional relationship. If our load factor is 1.15, then the lift is 1.15x the weight, or 1.15x the original lift, 15% extra.
To put it another way, in this question, the load factor is 1.15, and the Weight hasn't magically changed, and there is only 1 other part of the equation:
Load Factor = Lift/Weight
So to cause the increase, the Lift had to increase by x1.15, which is the same as increasing by 15%
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