Originally Posted by UAL T38 Phlyer

Gestrich19:

Here's a practical example for you, as this confused me in ground school, too.

Picture yourself walking down the street. You suddenly see a store you want to go into, and make a sharp turn and go inside.

Now, try doing the same thing, running as fast as you can.

Obviously, the radius is bigger for the runner, and he also takes longer to make the turn. That is radius and rate, respectively.

It confused me in ground school/early flying because I told myself: "But the faster I go, the more 'g' that can be generated!"

True, but it doesn't help. I had this discussion with a student recently, and I proved via the lift formula and turn radius formula that for the same angle of attack, the turn radius is a constant. But that is a different side to this discussion.