Pivotal altitude

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At the pivotal altitude, a turn can be made at any distance from the pylon with appropriate bank, and the pylon will appear to remain stationary
At the pivotal altitude, a turn can be made at any distance from the pylon with appropriate bank, and the pylon will appear to remain stationary

Pivotal Altitude is the altitude for a given groundspeed at which the line of site from the cockpit directly parallel to the lateral axis of the aircraft will remain stationary on an object on the ground. [1]

A rule of thumb for calculating the pivotal altitude H given the speed in knots v is

H = \frac {v^2}{11.3}

[edit] References

  1. ^ United States Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, FAA-H-8083-3A, Airplane Flying Handbook