04 Turning
CASA Recreational Pilot License (Aeroplane) — CASA Sample Syllabus Lesson 4.
This lesson is on turning — something the student has already been practising, but here we learn the why as well as how to control a turn during climb and descent. The theory brief covers the forces acting on the aeroplane in a banked turn, coordinated (balanced) turns and adverse yaw, the entry/maintenance/exit of medium level, climbing and descending turns, the overbank and underbank tendencies, and recognition and recovery from a spiral dive. In the flight we practise medium level turns, climbing turns and descending turns, and observe an instructor demonstration of a spiral dive recovery.
Theory Brief
Section titled “Theory Brief”The forces in a banked turn, coordinated turns and adverse yaw, medium level / climbing / descending turns, overbank and underbank tendencies, and recognising and recovering from a spiral dive. View the slides on this page below or open the slides directly.
Pre-flight briefing notes
Section titled “Pre-flight briefing notes”The pre-flight brief (~15 min, immediately before the flight) works best as an interactive whiteboard session, not slides — stepping through the flight plan, threats, and the spiral-dive recovery rehearsal together with the student. These printable notes give you the briefing components (aim, flight walk-through, threats, lookout / balance / spiral recovery) with prompts and fill-in blanks, plus a front page to sketch your own whiteboard plan and running order. Although it will be helpful to plan and step through it yourself before the lesson, remember: modelling the process of the pre-flight brief is more important than presenting a polished pre-flight brief. This is why we do it interactively rather than a presentation. Download the PDF of the briefing notes to print or use offline.
In-flight notes
Section titled “In-flight notes”Instructor kneeboard reference for the airborne sequence. These use a portrait layout for easier use on a kneeboard or device. View the slides on this page on the right or open the slides directly, or download the PDF of the in-flight notes to print or use on your device offline.
Post-flight debrief
Section titled “Post-flight debrief”I plan to add post-flight debriefs once I have more experience conducting them, but I'm assuming it'll be more of a personal preference with assessment outcomes than a set of slides.
Useful resources for students
Section titled “Useful resources for students”- The NZ Civil Aviation Authority has a one-page Medium, climbing and descending turns whiteboard that summarises the technique — suitable for the student if they want to download it for themselves.
- Flight Club — How Planes Make Turns (~5 min) — a clear animation of how the lift force changes during a turn.
Example email to students before the lesson
Section titled “Example email to students before the lesson”If you are an instructor, feel free to modify this for your own use. Sending an email a few days before a lesson is a great way to engage people in the learning before they even arrive (if they have time and capacity).
Subject: Lesson 4 — Turning
Hi [name],
Our next lesson is on turning — something you've already been practising in your flights so far, but that we'll learn more of the why as well as how to control a turn during climb and descent. We'll spend the long briefing understanding why an aeroplane turns the way it does (it's more interesting than it sounds!), and then in the flight we'll put it into practice: medium level turns, climbing turns, and descending turns.
We'll also do a brief instructor demonstration of a spiral dive — a situation every pilot needs to be able to recognise and recover from safely. Don't worry — I'll be at the controls for that one.
To prepare:
- Watch this short video animation on how the lift force changes during a turn — it covers the same physics we'll discuss in the briefing: How Planes Make Turns (~5 min)
- Think about what you already know about the "ball" (inclinometer) in the cockpit — we'll talk about keeping it centred during turns.
When: [day]
See you then!