Load factor (aeronautics)

However, its units are traditionally referred to as g, because of the relation between load factor and apparent acceleration of gravity felt on board the aircraft.

A load factor of one, or 1 g, represents conditions in straight and level flight, where the lift is equal to the weight.

[citation needed] The load factor, and in particular its sign, depends not only on the forces acting on the aircraft, but also on the orientation of its vertical axis.

In the definition of load factor, the lift is not simply that one generated by the aircraft's wing, instead it is the vector sum of the lift generated by the wing, the fuselage and the tailplane,[2]: 395  or in other words it is the component perpendicular to the airflow of the sum of all aerodynamic forces acting on the aircraft.

Civil aviation authorities specify the load factor limits within which different categories of aircraft are required to operate without damage.

For example, the US Federal Aviation Regulations prescribe the following limits (for the most restrictive case): However, many aircraft types, in particular aerobatic airplanes, are designed so that they can tolerate load factors much higher than the minimum required.

Humans have limited ability to withstand a load factor significantly greater than 1, both positive and negative.