Definition
The speed at which an aircraft is changing heading, expressed in degrees per second. A standard rate turn is 3 degrees per second, which completes a 360-degree turn in two minutes.
Plain English
How fast the aircraft is swinging its nose around the compass — measured in how many degrees of heading change happen each second.
Context Anchor
Seen when using the turn-and-slip indicator during instrument flight, especially when making a standard-rate turn.
Why Pilots Care
Maintaining a standard 3-degree-per-second turn rate is required for instrument approach procedures and holding patterns.
Grounding Statement
If the airplane’s nose is moving around to a new direction faster, the turn-rate is higher; if it is moving around more slowly, the turn-rate is lower.
Intuition Check
Turn-rate does not mean bank angle. A steeper bank often increases turn-rate, but the instrument is showing how fast the aircraft is changing direction, not how tilted the wings are.
Example Sentence 1
She rolled into a left bank until the needle showed a standard rate turn, giving her 3 degrees per second of turn rate.
Example Sentence 2
At higher airspeeds a steeper bank is needed to hold the same turn rate.