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Performance maneuvers also allow for an effective assessment of a pilot’s ability to apply the fundamentals; weakness in executing performance maneuvers is likely due to a pilot’s lack of understanding or a deficiency of fundamental skills. It is advisable that performance maneuver training should not take place until sufficient competency in the fundamentals is consistently demonstrated by the pilot. Further, initial training for performance maneuvers should always begin with a detailed ground lesson for each maneuver, so that the technicalities are understood prior to flight. In addition, performance maneuver training should be segmented into comprehensible building blocks of instruction so as to allow the pilot an appropriate level of repetition to develop the required skills. 

Performance maneuvers, once grasped by the pilot, are very satisfying and rewarding. As the pilot develops skills in executing performance maneuvers, they may likely see an increased smoothness in their flight control application and a higher ability to sense the airplane’s attitude and orientation without significant conscious effort. 

## Steep Turns 

Steep turns consist of single to multiple 360° to 720° turns, in either or both directions, using a bank angle between 45° to 60°. The objective of the steep turn is to develop a pilot’s skill in flight control smoothness and coordination, an awareness of the airplane’s orientation to outside references, division of 

attention between flight control application, and the constant need to scan for hazards. [Figure 9-1] 

When steep turns are first demonstrated, the pilot will be in an unfamiliar environment when compared to what was previously experienced in shallow bank angled turns; however, the fundamental concepts of turns remain the same in the execution of steep turns. When performing steep turns, pilots will be exposed to higher load factors, the airplane’s inherent overbanking tendency, the loss of vertical component of lift when the wings are steeply banked, the need for substantial pitch control pressures, and the need for additional power to maintain altitude and airspeed during the turn. 

As discussed in previous chapters, when an airplane is banked, the total lift is comprised of a vertical component of lift and a horizontal component of lift. In order to not lose altitude, the pilot must increase the wing’s angle of attack (AOA) to ensure that the vertical component of lift is sufficient to maintain altitude. In a steep turn, the pilot will need to increase pitch with elevator back pressures that are greater than what has been previously utilized. Total lift must increase substantially to balance the load factor or G-force (G). The load factor is the vector resultant of gravity and centrifugal force. For example, in a level altitude, 45° banked turn, the resulting load factor is 1.4; in a level altitude, 60° banked turn, the resulting load factor is 2.0. To put this in perspective, with a load factor of 2.0, the effective weight of the aircraft will double. Pilots 

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