What is the relationship between bank angle and stall speed?

The relationship between bank angle and stall speed is fundamentally linked to the physics of flight. As the bank angle increases, the load factor on the aircraft also increases. This is because the aircraft must generate enough lift to counteract not just its weight but also the increased centrifugal force acting on it during a banked turn.

When the load factor increases, the aircraft's wings must produce more lift to maintain level flight, which requires airspeed to be higher. Since stall speed is the minimum speed at which an aircraft can maintain controlled flight, an increase in load factor due to a higher bank angle translates to an increase in stall speed. For instance, at a 60-degree bank angle, the stall speed can be approximately 1.4 times the level flight stall speed, illustrating that as the bank angle increases, so does the stall speed.

This understanding is crucial for pilots, as flying at higher bank angles requires greater awareness of stall characteristics to ensure they maintain safe flight operations under various maneuvers.