In flying the rectangular course when would the aircraft be turned less than 90 degrees?

• A. Corners 1 & 4
• B. Corners 2 & 3
• C. All corners
• D. None of the corners

Answer: (A)

When flying a rectangular course with wind, your ground track is the result of both your airspeed and the wind. Because of that, the turns aren’t always exactly 90 degrees. The turns at the upwind corners are shallower than 90 degrees, since the wind pushes the airplane toward the next leg as you start the turn. This drift toward the next leg means you don’t have to deflect the nose as far to align with that leg. The other corners don’t have this favorable wind effect, so they don’t get a turn shorter than 90 degrees. So the corners where the wind helps you into the next leg are the ones with a turn less than 90 degrees.