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3 Answers

C172 Wing tip Strike – Bank Angle?

Asked by: 3109 views , , ,
Flight Instructor, General Aviation, Private Pilot

In applying for a CFI position at my collegiate flight program we were issued a comprehensive Written Exam to complete (think pre-solo written on a years supply of steroids). Out of 79 questions I could not find the answer to this one:

#3 At approximately what angle of bank would a wing tip strike occur with the main wheels on the ground? (Assuming a C172 fleet)

The exam is over (and was a ton of fun!) but I was wondering what you guys think the answer is and how you would go about finding it! 

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3 Answers

  1. Best Answer


    Kris Kortokrax on Sep 17, 2016

    I’m wondering why anyone would care about this. This is a stupid question and does not probe any knowledge related to flight instructing in airplanes. If we were talking about helicopters and dynamic rollover versus static rollover, this might be a valid question.

    Ever heard of a tangent?

    If you know the length of the wing (the 3 view in the POH shows 36′ wing span) and can approximate the height of the wing above ground (let’s see, I’m 6′ tall and can just walk under the wing at the tip) you can calculate it. The POH for the 172N shows the width of the main gear to be 8′ 4.5″ (the plane would have to pivot about the wheel while on the ground). I’m going to forget the 4.5″ to make it easier.

    36′ wing span minus 8′ gives 28′ divided by 2 gives 14′

    The tangent is the ratio of the opposite side of a right triangle to the adjacent side.

    6 divided by 14 gives 0.428571428
    Using the inverse tangent function on any dime store calculator will give you an angle of about 23 degrees.

    Now, before anyone starts a discussion about dihedral and not having a true right angle, I know this. He asked for an approximation. 23 degrees is close enough for government work.

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  2. Jordan - CFI on Sep 17, 2016

    Adding onto what Kris said… if you’re banked enough to worry about a wing strike, you should’ve already gone around.

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  3. Kris Kortokrax on Sep 18, 2016

    Not to mention that if you are in the process of takeoff or landing, you should be looking outside, not at the attitude indicator to see what bank angle you have.

    Most flight schools I am familiar with use the maximum demonstrated crosswind number as a limitation and won’t let their airplanes out if it will be exceeded, so it should probably never be an issue.

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