Definition
A turn in which the pilot progressively increases the angle of bank as the aircraft proceeds through the maneuver, used to compensate for a tailwind component that would otherwise cause the airplane's ground track to widen away from the intended reference.
Plain English
A turn where you keep adding more bank as you go around, because the wind is pushing you outward and you need a tighter turn to stay on the path you want over the ground.
Context Anchor
Seen in ground-reference maneuvers such as eights along a road, where the pilot changes the bank to keep the airplane’s path over the ground shaped correctly in the wind.
Derivation
Steepening comes from steep, meaning sharply sloped or set at a strong angle. Bank in aviation means the sideways tilt of the airplane. Together, steepening bank means making that sideways tilt greater.
Why Pilots Care
Correct steepening keeps the maneuver's ground track rectangular and prevents drift-induced overshoots or undershoots while preserving altitude and airspeed.
Intuition Check
Steepening bank does not mean climbing more steeply. It means rolling the airplane farther into the turn, so the wings are tilted more from level.
Example Sentence 1
As the airplane turned downwind, the pilot used a steepening bank to keep the turn tight enough to stay aligned with the road.
Example Sentence 2
If the crosswind increases, additional steepening of the bank on the base leg keeps the turn radius correct over the ground.