Definition
The rate at which an aircraft changes its heading during a turn, expressed in degrees per second. A standard rate turn is 3 degrees per second, which produces a complete 360-degree turn in two minutes. Rate of turn depends on bank angle and true airspeed: for a given bank angle, increasing airspeed decreases the rate of turn; for a given airspeed, increasing bank angle increases the rate of turn.
Plain English
How quickly the airplane is changing the direction it is pointing, measured in degrees per second.
Context Anchor
Seen when learning turn radius, bank angle, airspeed, instrument turns, and how much room an airplane needs to complete a turn.
Derivation
Rate comes from an old word meaning a measured amount. Here it means a measured amount of heading change over time. Turn keeps its normal meaning: changing direction. Together, rate of turn means how much the airplane’s direction changes in a given amount of time.
Why Pilots Care
Controls how long it takes to change heading, which directly affects navigation timing, holding patterns, and instrument approach segments.
Grounding Statement
If the heading indicator is moving quickly through the numbers, the airplane has a high rate of turn; if it is moving slowly, the rate of turn is low.
Intuition Check
Rate of turn does not mean how sharply the airplane is banked by itself. It means how fast the heading is changing; bank angle and airspeed both affect it.
Example Sentence 1
The pilot rolled into a 15-degree bank to establish a standard rate of turn while entering the holding pattern.
Example Sentence 2
Maintaining a precise rate of turn allowed the aircraft to complete the holding pattern turn in exactly one minute.