Definition
A turn flown around a fixed point on the ground in which the pilot holds an imaginary line, called the line of sight, from the airplane to that point so it appears to pivot on the wingtip. The point on the ground is called the pylon, and the maneuver is flown at a specific altitude — the pivotal altitude — at which the line of sight remains on the pylon when the wing is pointed at it.
Plain English
A turn around a chosen spot on the ground, flown at the right altitude and angle so the wingtip appears to stay locked onto that spot the whole way around.
Context Anchor
Seen in the Eights on Pylons maneuver, where the pilot flies turns around two selected ground points in opposite directions.
Derivation
Pylon originally referred to a tall gateway or marker post — from the Greek 'pyle,' meaning gate. In early air racing, tall pylons were placed on the ground to mark the course, and pilots flew turns around them. The name carried over to this training maneuver, where a fixed ground feature serves the same role as those old race markers.
Why Pilots Care
Develops precise coordination between bank, rudder, and pitch while teaching wind drift correction at low altitude.
Intuition Check
Do not assume a pylon turn is just any turn around a point. In a true pylon turn, the key is that the ground point appears to stay fixed beside the wing when the airplane is at the correct altitude.
Example Sentence 1
During the checkride, the examiner asked for a pylon turn to the left, and the pilot adjusted altitude as groundspeed changed to keep the wingtip aligned with the silo.
Example Sentence 2
During the pylon turn the pilot reduced bank slightly on the downwind side to maintain the reference point on the wing.