Plain English Meaning

How steep the climb is. A small angle means a shallow climb that covers a lot of ground for each foot of altitude gained. A large angle means a steep climb that gains altitude quickly without travelling far forward.

Full Definition

The angle between the aircraft's flight path during a climb and the horizontal. It expresses how steeply the aircraft is gaining altitude relative to the ground it is covering, and is determined primarily by the relationship between excess thrust and weight.

Context Anchor

Seen in climb performance discussions, especially when comparing clearing an obstacle with gaining altitude quickly over time.

Derivation

Angle comes from a Latin word meaning “corner” or “bend.” In this term, it points to the angle between the aircraft’s upward path and a level path over the ground.