As the angle of bank is increased, the vertical component of lift decreases and the horizontal component of lift increases.

• A. The vertical component of lift increases and the horizontal component decreases.
• B. The total lift remains constant as bank angle increases.
• C. The vertical component of lift decreases and the horizontal component increases.
• D. Both components increase as bank angle increases.

Answer: (C)

When the airplane banks, the lift vector tilts away from the vertical. If lift is L and the bank angle is φ, you can resolve lift into vertical and horizontal components: vertical component is L cos φ and horizontal component is L sin φ. As the bank angle increases, cos φ decreases and sin φ increases, so the vertical component decreases while the horizontal component increases. This describes how the lift distribution shifts from supporting weight to providing centripetal force as the bank steepens. In real flight, pilots adjust lift to maintain altitude, which changes the vertical component accordingly, but for a fixed lift magnitude, the vertical component falls and the horizontal component grows with a larger bank.