What type of acceleration occurs when a flight maneuver involves a change in direction without a change in speed?

The correct answer is radial acceleration. When a flight maneuver involves a change in direction while maintaining a constant speed, the aircraft is effectively maintaining a circular path. This change in direction creates an acceleration directed towards the center of the circular path, known as radial acceleration.

Radial acceleration, also referred to as centripetal acceleration, is responsible for keeping an object moving along a curved trajectory. In this context, it is important to note that even though the speed is constant, the velocity of the aircraft is changing because velocity is a vector quantity that depends on both speed and direction. Hence, radial acceleration is the force that acts perpendicular to the direction of travel, enabling the directional change.

In contrast, centrifugal acceleration is often used to describe the apparent force felt by an object moving in a circular path but is not a type of acceleration that acts on the object itself. Angular acceleration pertains to the rate of change of angular velocity over time, which is involved when an object’s spin rate increases or decreases. Linear acceleration refers to a change in the speed (magnitude) of the object along a straight path, which does not apply when the speed remains constant.

Understanding these distinctions clarifies why radial acceleration is the correct and most applicable answer in the context of