Drone Pilot Practice Exam

During a 30° banked turn while maintaining altitude, what approximate weight must an unmanned airplane structure support if it originally weighs 33 pounds?

1. 33 pounds

2. 36 pounds

3. 38 pounds

4. 42 pounds

The correct answer is: 38 pounds

In a banked turn, the lift acting on the aircraft must not only counteract the weight of the aircraft but also provide the necessary centripetal force to maintain the turn. When an aircraft is banked at an angle, the lift vector is tilted, which means part of the lift supports the weight of the airplane and another part provides the centripetal force needed to keep the airplane in a circular path. In this scenario, you have an unmanned airplane weighing 33 pounds that is in a 30° banked turn. To maintain altitude, the lift must increase to counter both the gravitational force acting straight down (the weight of the airplane) and to provide the required centripetal force. The formula to determine the effective weight the structure must support is derived from the relationship of the forces involved in a turn: 1. Calculate how much additional lift is required due to the bank angle. For a bank angle of θ, the lift can be expressed as \( L = W / \cos(θ) \), where W is the weight of the airplane. The greater the bank angle, the more lift is needed. 2. For a 30° bank, the cosine of 30° is approximately 0.866. Thus