Timed Turn Calculator (Compass-Free Heading Changes)
Heading change ÷ 3 = seconds: the partial-panel timed turn computed, with half-standard option and the magnetic-compass-error reasoning attached.
Roll in, start the clock as the bank establishes, roll out when it expires — then check the compass once wings-level and steady. The clock can't be fooled by dip; the compass in a turn can. That's the whole point.
Formula
⚠️ For flight planning and education only — verify with official sources and certified equipment. Not for primary navigation.
Heading change ÷ 3 = seconds: the partial-panel timed turn computed, with half-standard option and the magnetic-compass-error reasoning attached.
About Timed Turn Calculator (Compass-Free Heading Changes)
When the attitude indicator dies and the magnetic compass starts its turning lies, the clock becomes a heading instrument: at standard rate, every 3° of heading change costs exactly one second. This calculator does the partial-panel arithmetic — shorter-direction turn, degrees of change, seconds on the clock at standard or half-standard rate — the procedure that lets a turn coordinator and a stopwatch substitute for everything the vacuum pump took with it.
How to use Timed Turn Calculator (Compass-Free Heading Changes)
- 1Enter — sensible defaults are pre-filled so you see a worked result immediately.
- 2Read the live results: .
- 3Check the "With your numbers" line to see the formula seconds = heading change ÷ rate; at standard rate: degrees ÷ 3 substituted step by step.
- 4Adjust inputs (or flip the unit toggle) until the scenario matches yours, then copy or share the result.
Why use Timed Turn Calculator (Compass-Free Heading Changes)?
- ✓Instant, free and private — every calculation runs in your browser, nothing is uploaded
- ✓Built on the published formula seconds = heading change ÷ rate; at standard rate: degrees ÷ 3 with sources cited on the page
- ✓Roll in, start the clock as the bank establishes, roll out when it expires — then check the compass once wings-level and steady. The clock can't be fooled by dip; the compass in a turn can. That's the whole point.
- ✓Switch units, tweak any input and watch every result update live
Frequently asked questions
Why trust the clock over the compass during the turn?+
Because the whiskey compass is provably lying mid-turn (northerly turning error swings it by up to your latitude — our compass-error tool quantifies it) while the clock is incorruptible. The technique outsources heading to dead reckoning: hold the rate the turn coordinator certifies, for the time the arithmetic demands, and read the compass only in stabilized straight flight afterward.
When do I start and stop the timing?+
Consistency beats philosophy: the standard convention starts the clock as you begin the roll-in and stops it beginning the roll-out, letting the two roll transients (roughly symmetric) cancel. For large turns the seconds dominate anyway; for small corrections under 30°, many instructors skip timing entirely and use the 'bank angle ≈ degrees to turn' micro-correction technique.
What if my turn coordinator is slightly out of calibration?+
Calibrate it against the clock on a good-weather day: fly a timed 360 at indicated standard rate and note the actual time. 130 seconds instead of 120 means the instrument under-reads ~8% — apply that factor to future timed turns (or note the corrected index position). Partial-panel competence is built precisely from such known-error flying.
Does the technique work at half-standard rate for fast aircraft?+
Identically at 6 seconds per degree-and-a-half — i.e., degrees ÷ 1.5. Jets partial-panel (rarer, given redundancy) and anyone flying half-standard for passenger comfort uses the same clock logic. The tool's rate selector covers both; the discipline (rate held honest, compass read only when steady) never changes.
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