An airplane is traveling at 150 m/s in level flight. In order to make a change in direction, the airplane travels in a horizontal curved path. To fly in the curved path, the pilot banks the airplane at an angle such that the lift has a horizontal component that provides the horizontal radial acceleration to move in a horizontal circular path. If the airplane is banked at an angle of 12.0 degrees, then the radius of curvature of the curved path of the airplane is

Given Information:

Velocity = v = 150 m/s

angle = θ = 12°

Required Information:

Radius of curvature = R = ?

Radius of curvature =

Explanation:

Please refer to the attached diagram,

Where m is the mass of the plane and g is the gravitational acceleration.

Where v is the velocity of the plane and R is the radius of curvature of the curved path of the airplane.

Dividing eq. 2 by eq. 1 yields,

Therefore, the radius of curvature of the curved path of the airplane is 1.079×10⁴ m