Understanding and practicing each of these elements separately will allow you to make great turns every time. Let's discuss these elements and some of the common problems that you may encounter as a student.
Forces
Sir Isaac Newton's second law essentially says that an object in motion tends to stay in motion unless acted upon by an outside force. In the case of an airplane in steady, unaccelerated flight, the force that causes an airplane to turn is the horizontal component of lift. This force "pulls" the airplane away from its straight path. As long as the wings are level with the horizon, the lift vector (which is always perpendicular to the chord line of the wings) points straight up and no lift is "borrowed" for turning. It is only when the wings are banked that the airplane turns, because the bank angle inclines the lift vector -- creating both a vertical and horizontal component of lift. 
Roll
To start a turn, gradually roll into a bank by applying a small aileron deflection at first and then increasing it until you achieve your desired roll rate (roll rate is the rate at which the bank angle is changing). Typically, it should take about two to four seconds to roll into a turn with a 30-degree angle of bank. Just before establishing the desired bank angle, smoothly neutralize the ailerons.
Keep in mind that once established in a medium bank turn (20 to 30 degrees), most airplanes are very stable. They tend to "turn themselves" and usually require little, if any, further aileron input. In steeper turns airplanes tend to overbank and some opposite aileron input may be required during the turn.
A common problem with turn entries is applying an excessively large initial aileron deflection, which initiates the roll too quickly. This is neither desired nor necessary, especially with passengers aboard. Your job should be to coax or guide the airplane into the turn with your control inputs.
Coordination
Before practicing turns in your airplane, you should be familiar with the concepts of adverse yaw, overbanking tendency, and slips and skids. You should know what the ball in the inclinometer -- located in the turn coordinator -- is telling you about the quality of your turn and be able to relate that to the kinesthetic or "seat of your pants" sensations that you'll experience during coordinated, slipping, and skidding turns.
Whenever you deflect an aileron, the protruding surface creates induced drag, which in turn causes adverse yaw. For a turn to be coordinated, the rudder must be deflected to counteract that yaw. Of course, the amount of rudder to use will vary with the amount of aileron deflection and the type of aileron. For example, frise-type ailerons are hinged so that as the aft edge is deflected upward, the leading edge (ahead of the hinge line) protrudes into the airstream. This creates parasite drag that offsets the induced drag produced by the aileron on the opposite wing, minimizing adverse yaw and reducing the amount of rudder input needed.
Another challenge is to carefully blend rudder with aileron during turn entries. Ideally, the rudder should be applied smoothly at the same time the ailerons are deflected. To demonstrate this timing relationship, look outside and pay close attention to the nose of the airplane while you practice turn entries. First try a turn entry with rudder applied too late. From straight-and-level flight, roll the airplane into a normal 30-degree banked turn, but intentionally apply rudder too late. You should see the nose try to "catch up" with the turn. You should also be able to feel the slip or "lean" toward the inside of the turn. The ball should move away from center, toward the inside of the turn.
Next try a turn entry with rudder applied too early. You should see that the nose tends to swing off heading, or yaw, before the bank is established. You should also be able to feel the skid as the tail of the airplane slides to the outside of the turn. You can confirm these feelings by looking at the ball in the inclinometer, which should move away from center toward the outside of the turn.
Finally, try a coordinated turn. Once you find the right balance of rudder and aileron, spend some time just practicing your turn entries.
Next you must learn how to coordinate your established turns. When learning this element of turns, don't depend on the ball to tell you what the airplane is doing. Remember, you're trying to develop your own feel. While established in a coordinated, 30-degree banked turn, add slightly too much rudder for the turn. You should be able to feel the sensations of "fishtailing" or skidding. Glance at the ball to confirm these feelings. It should be slightly out of center, toward the outside of the turn. Next, while in the same turn, add opposite rudder pressure. You should be able to feel the "leans" toward the inside of the turn, and see that the nose of the airplane isn't turning at a the rate it should be. A quick look at the ball should confirm that you are slipping. The ball should be slightly out of center toward the inside of the turn. After practicing these demonstrations a few times, you'll soon realize that the ball doesn't tell you anything more about the quality of your turn than your own rear end does.
Angle of bank
Before rolling into a turn, have a target angle of bank in mind. Otherwise, you may find yourself "just turning" (which results in sloppy turns, heading problems, and inconsistencies). A good rule of thumb is to use 5 to 10 degrees of bank for en route turns and 20 degrees of bank for climbing turns, to preserve the vertical component of lift. (Instrument flight requires standard-rate turns, where the bank angle is approximately equal to 15 percent of true airspeed.) Although 45-degree banks are used during training to teach division of attention and load factors, steep turns are rarely used in routine flying.
When correcting heading deviations, it's important not to overcontrol the airplane by choosing a larger bank angle than is necessary. Try using a maximum bank of no more than the heading deviation. For example, if your heading is off by 10 degrees, use a 10-degree-bank turn to correct. However, if the heading is off by more than 30 degrees, don't bank more than 30 degrees to correct.
Once you've decided upon a bank angle, don't become gauge-happy by fixating on the attitude indicator (AI) in an effort to measure your bank angle. Unfortunately, many students can't resist this temptation. Some can't even tell their bank angle without looking at the AI. With a little practice, you'll be able to develop the ability to visually judge bank angle. And when you're flying visually, there's nothing the attitude indicator can tell you that you don't already know from looking outside.
Since this exercise requires that you refer to the AI more than usual, you should practice it with your instructor. Begin by temporarily covering the attitude indicator. While established in steady, straight-and-level flight, and while looking straight ahead, have your instructor hold the airplane in first a 5-, and then a 10-degree bank. You should be able to see the bank angle by noting the difference between the horizon and the top of the airplane's cowl. Briefly uncover the AI once the bank angle is established so that you can compare the AI indication and the sight picture out the windscreen. After a few demonstrations, you should be able to easily discern when the airplane is banked 5 and 10 degrees.
After you master the sight picture of a 10-degree bank, just double the angle you see to get 20. Uncover the AI to confirm your perception. Then add one-half more (i.e., another 10 degrees) to obtain 30 degrees of bank. Again uncover the AI to confirm your observation. Finally, to demonstrate 45 degrees of bank, have your instructor fold a piece of paper into a small 45/45/90-degree triangle and hold one edge flat upon the top of the glare shield. After proper clearing turns, you can roll the airplane until the horizon is parallel with the edge of the paper triangle. This will be a 45-degree bank angle. With your instructor's help, continue to practice these exercises until you can consistently establish these common bank angles to within a few degrees.
Pitch
Some students have trouble with pitch when rolling into and out of a turn. Difficulties maintaining pitch once the turn is established are less common. The challenge with pitch is knowing how much back-pressure to apply, when to apply it, and when to release it. The amount of back-pressure required to maintain altitude in a turn is directly related to angle of bank. As the bank angle is increased, the amount of back-pressure must also be increased to compensate for the division of lift into vertical and horizontal components. Trigonometry will show that with turns of up to 30 degrees of bank, the reduction of the vertical component of lift is slight and little back-pressure is required to maintain altitude. But once beyond 30 degrees of bank, you'll find that it takes much more back-pressure to maintain altitude. And once you've applied this pressure, don't relax it. Otherwise the nose will sink, and altitude will be lost. Remember, if the bank angle is constant, the back-pressure is constant.
When rolling into a turn, keep an eye on the nose of the airplane in relation to the horizon to detect any pitch deviations. You don't want the nose to rise or fall when rolling into your bank. Be patient, and then apply just enough back-pressure to keep the airplane's nose at the same pitch that you had before the turn was started. Another hint is to include the vertical speed indicator (VSI) in your scan. This will alert you to an altitude deviation long before the altimeter reacts.
When practicing turns, it's advantageous to make turns of more than 90 degrees of heading change. This will allow you to get a good turn established and to feel the control pressures you have to hold to keep the turn going. It's also helpful if your instructor temporarily covers the gauges (AI, VSI, altimeter) while you learn to recognize the visual cues. For example, once established at a known altitude, the altimeter can be covered up prior to the turn and uncovered afterward to see how well you held your altitude.
Roll out
To roll out of a turn, simply apply control pressures to start a turn in the opposite direction. Since the airplane will take time to roll to wings level, the rollout should be started at a heading that is about one-third to one-half of the angle of bank prior to the desired heading. For example, for a 30-degree bank turn, you should initiate the rollout about 15 degrees prior to the desired heading. Designate this point by verbally calling out "mark" and then start the rollout.
For this technique to work properly, your roll-out rate must be consistent. Also, it is very important to keep your eyes outside the cockpit until the wings are completely level. If you look at the heading indicator to see how well you've done before the turn is completed, you'll probably induce some wing-rocking on the rollout. To avoid this tendency, practice rolling out on visual references like mountain peaks, cloud formations, smokestacks, or roads. Then try rolling out on headings.
The keys to precise, level turns to headings are consistent roll-ins, bank angles, pitch inputs, and rollouts. Indeed, practicing roll-ins and rollouts can be thought of as exercises. Rest assured that once mastered, the same skills and knowledge required to precisely turn a Cessna 152 are the same skills and knowledge required to turn an F-16 Fighting Falcon or a Boeing 777. Fly safe.
Christopher L. Parker is a CFI and an aviation author, speaker, and FAA remedial training specialist. He is captain of a Canadair Challenger business jet based in Van Nuys, California.
Illustrations by Steve Stankiewics
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