Steep Turns, Explained: How to Fly a Smooth 45° Bank
Steep turns are the first maneuver that makes most students grin. You roll the airplane up to 45 degrees of bank, the horizon tilts across the windshield, you feel yourself pressed into the seat, and you fly one full circle without gaining or losing altitude.
It looks simple. It isn't, at first. But once it clicks, steep turns teach you more about coordination and feel than almost anything else in your Private Pilot training. Here's exactly how to fly one.
What is a steep turn?
A steep turn is a level, 360 degree turn at about 45 degrees of bank. On your Private Pilot checkride, you'll fly one in each direction. The goal is to hold your altitude, airspeed and bank steady the whole way around, then roll out on the same heading you started on.
Why practice it? Because it builds the skills you need any time you turn hard: smooth control inputs, managing the extra load on the wings, and keeping your eyes outside. If you ever need to turn tightly to avoid traffic or weather, you'll be glad you've done this a hundred times.
The checkride standards
The Private Pilot Airman Certification Standards (ACS) is the FAA's checklist of what your examiner will grade. For steep turns, here's what you're aiming for:
| Standard | What you're aiming for |
|---|---|
| Bank angle | About 45 degrees, within 5 degrees either way. |
| Altitude | Your entry altitude, within 100 feet. |
| Airspeed | Your entry airspeed, within 10 knots. |
| Rollout heading | Your entry heading, within 10 degrees. |
| Entry airspeed | The manufacturer's recommended speed, or at or below maneuvering speed (VA). |
| Direction | A full 360 degree turn, then the same in the opposite direction. |
Why steep turns feel heavy
In a level turn, the wings have to hold up the airplane and pull it around the circle. At 45 degrees of bank, that adds up to about 1.41 G, so you feel about 40% heavier in your seat. Your stall speed goes up too, by about 19%.
That's why we always enter steep turns at or below maneuvering speed, or VA. It's the speed the airplane's manufacturer lists as safe for full, abrupt control movements. Your airplane's Pilot's Operating Handbook (POH) has the exact number, and it changes with weight.
How to fly a steep turn, step by step
We'll fly these in the practice area with plenty of altitude below us. Here's the sequence:
| Step | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1. Clear the area | Fly two 90 degree clearing turns, or one 180, and look for traffic above, below and around you. |
| 2. Set up | Pick a landmark on the horizon to mark your heading. Note your altitude. Set your airspeed at or below VA. Many 172 instructors use about 95 knots. |
| 3. Roll in | Roll smoothly into a coordinated turn, using rudder with the ailerons. Keep rolling until you reach 45 degrees. |
| 4. Add back pressure and power | As you pass about 30 degrees of bank, start adding back pressure to hold altitude, plus a little power to hold airspeed. |
| 5. Hold it | Keep your eyes outside on the horizon. Glance at the altimeter and attitude indicator, then look back outside. |
| 6. Lead the rollout | Start rolling out about 20 degrees before your heading, roughly half your bank angle. Release back pressure and reduce power as you go. |
| 7. Reverse it | Roll right into a steep turn the other way, and do it all again. |
Tips that make it click
Use the horizon, not the gauges. At 45 degrees, there's a sight picture where the horizon crosses the cowling and the window frame. Once you learn it, hold it there. The instruments confirm what your eyes already know.
Watch the overbanking tendency. In a steep turn, the outside wing is moving faster than the inside wing, so it makes a little more lift and the airplane wants to roll even steeper. You'll often need to hold a touch of opposite aileron to keep the bank at 45.
Small corrections win. If you start to lose altitude, don't just pull harder. Shallow the bank a few degrees, raise the nose, then roll back to 45. Pulling harder in a steep bank just tightens the turn.
And if you feel a bump right as you complete the circle? That's your own wake. It means you held your altitude perfectly and flew right back through the air you disturbed. Nice work.
| Mistake | The fix |
|---|---|
| Losing altitude as you roll in | Start adding back pressure as you pass 30 degrees of bank, not after you notice the altimeter dropping. |
| Climbing on the rollout | Release back pressure and bring the power back as you roll out. The airplane doesn't need the extra lift anymore. |
| Bank creeping past 50 degrees | Hold a little opposite aileron to counter the overbanking tendency. |
| Staring at the instruments | Keep your eyes outside on the horizon and use quick glances inside. |
| Skidding or slipping | Check the ball on the turn coordinator and step on the rudder on the side the ball is on. |
| Missing your rollout heading | Lead the rollout by about 20 degrees and keep your landmark in sight. |
How long until steep turns feel easy?
It depends on the student and how often you fly. Most students feel the first few are a wrestling match, then something clicks over the next few lessons. We'll keep practicing them all through your training, because they're on the checkride and they keep your skills sharp.
Next up, learn the opposite end of the airspeed range in our guide to slow flight.
Ready to feel it for yourself?
Reading about a 45 degree bank is fun. Flying one is better. Book a $199 discovery flight at Tampa Executive Airport, and let's go fly.
