Definition
The speed at which an aircraft is rolling into or out of a bank, measured in degrees of bank angle per second. It describes how quickly the wings are tilting, not how steeply they are tilted.
Plain English
How fast the airplane is tipping its wings sideways. A high bank rate means the wings are rolling quickly; a low bank rate means they are rolling slowly.
Context Anchor
Seen when interpreting a turn coordinator or turn-and-slip indicator during instrument flying, especially while entering or leaving a turn.
Derivation
Bank comes from the idea of something being sloped or tilted to one side. Rate means how much something changes over time. Together, bank rate means how quickly the aircraft's sideways tilt is changing.
Why Pilots Care
The turn coordinator displays bank rate while the airplane is rolling, then transitions to showing turn rate once the bank is established. Confusing the two leads to misreading the instrument and over- or under-banking, especially in instrument conditions.
Intuition Check
Do not read bank rate as the amount of bank. Bank rate is how fast the bank is changing; bank angle is how tilted the wings are at that moment.
Example Sentence 1
She rolled smoothly into the turn, keeping the bank rate gentle so the passengers barely felt the change.
Example Sentence 2
A standard bank rate lets the turn coordinator show a steady needle deflection during instrument practice.